AT&T last week expanded capabilities of its Ethernet portfolio with the rollout of a global virtual private local area network service (VPLS) and expanded mid-band Ethernet connection speeds – speeds below 10 Mbps - that enable businesses to use Ethernet services over copper wires.
AT&T’s VPLS service called OPT-E-WANSM, aims to enable businesses to link multiple locations – whether across town or around the world – with all the ease and efficiency of a point-to-point Ethernet connection.
The service is expected to be made available this year in Frankfurt, Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Dublin/Cork, Milan, Madrid and Zurich in Europe; and Hong Kong, Sydney, London, Singapore and Tokyo.
Demand for Ethernet services worldwide continues to expand, reaching a global market size of nearly billion in 2007, according to the research firm, Ovum1. That growth is being driven by the need that businesses of all sizes have for affordable and easy-to- manage bandwidth to support next-generation enterprise applications including disaster recovery, storage and converged voice and video. Ovum also notes that Ethernet service over copper wires is the fastest-growing segment of the Ethernet market, with growth expected to continue.
“OPT-E-WAN will provide users with a new level of choices for establishing virtual LAN or WAN connections, unlike access methods — such as Frame Relay — that limit users to single-point connections,” said Sanford Brown, vice president AT&T Connectivity and Metro Network Services.
“Because it uses Ethernet interfaces, OPT-E-WAN can be configured easily in a variety of ways to meet customer needs whether they require point-to-point, multipoint or multipoint-to-multipoint connections.
“And when combined with the power and global reach of AT&T’s Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) core, customers will get the look and feel of a metro Ethernet network that can handle converged voice, data and video applications globally, along with the ability to scale it seamlessly,” Brown said.
Pricing for the new connection speeds is based on a combination of the rate, level of support and grade of service, and contract terms range from one to five years. |
