Find Metro Ethernet

If you've been using T1 lines to provide dedicated Internet service or point to point connectivity for your business, you may be wondering if there is a way to get more bandwidth without having to pay a huge premium to upgrade to DS3 over fiber optic cable. There is. It's called Metro Ethernet. Sounds great, but how do you find it?

Finding Metro Ethernet service is easy if you know where to look. Isn't that the case with just about everything? The trick with Ethernet is having a special tool that is designed specifically to find locations where Ethernet bandwidth is available and map them in relation to where you are located. You've used Google Maps, right? Wouldn't it be nice if you could specify a location and then see flags where Ethernet service is already provisioned?

You bet it would. Why? There's an old saying among prospectors. If you want to find gold, look in places where it has already been found. The same is true for bandwidth services. If you want to find Ethernet, look in places where Ethernet is already established.

What's so special about mapping out Metro Ethernet service? You need to realize that bringing in high bandwidth connections is an expensive and time consuming proposition. Competitive carriers need to trench fiber optic cables or fly them overhead on utility poles. When they get to a location where there are lots of potential customers, they'll establish a POP or Point of Presence. From there they extend service to major office buildings and other establishments that are willing to commit to bandwidths in the hundreds of Megabits/second or even Gbps.

You don't have to be a user of massive bandwidth. You only need to be near one. Then the cost of connecting you up is only the hop from the nearest distribution point to your location. If all you want in somewhere between 5 and 50 Mbps, chances are that you can get EoC or Ethernet over Copper. This is a technology that uses already in-place copper pair telco wiring to bring in Metro Ethernet service. For this to work, you need to be within a couple of miles or so of a service location.

Another option is to colocate your equipment in a facility that has Ethernet connectivity already available. These "carrier hotels" or colocation centers specialize in providing rack space, power & cooling, security and bandwidth at all levels at quite reasonable pricing.

Ready to find the nearest source of Ethernet service? Simply use the GeoQuote (tm) Shop For Ethernet online search engine by entering your business address. In a matter of seconds the system will respond with a map and list of nearby locations of buildings that are already "lit" for Ethernet.

Mid-Band Ethernet Offers Fiber Bandwidth Over Copper

Are you saying, "I feel the need. The need for bandwidth"? Or something like that?

Well, don't feel alone. The demand for WAN bandwidth is nearly insatiable. What's driving the need for bigger network pipes leaving the premises is an increase is the volume of data, measured in file sizes and number of transactions. Everything from radiological images and CAD drawings to offsite backups to ecommerce to wireless backhaul is clogging wide area network lines that used to have plenty of capacity.

In most cases, the increase in demand justifies ordering more bandwidth. That's great until you try to place the order. Where there was no problem whatsoever upgrading from ISDN BRI to a T1 line, there can be a BIG problem upgrading to fiber. Less than 15% of business locations are wired for fiber to the premises. The 85% that aren't already connected face potentially enormous charges to trench-in a fiber connection to the nearest metro ring. While monthly lease fees may be within the budget, the unexpected construction expense is likely a show stopper.

An ingenious solution to this dilemma involves leveraging the copper pairs that are already pulled into nearly every structure standing. Multi-pair bundles are the mainstay of traditional analog telephony. They can also be used to bring in T1 service for digital telephony and broadband Internet access. What has been needed is a way to get higher bandwidths over the installed base of copper wiring.

Enter mid-band Ethernet over copper. This service fills the bandwidth gap between T1 at 1.5 Mbps and DS3 over fiber at 45 Mbps. Mid-range bandwidths are often just right for business applications such as real-time video, mid to large company Internet access, and electronic data transfer. Plus this is native Ethernet running over the WAN, rather than a conversion from packet switching to T1 or SONET time division multiplexing. That makes for greater utilization of the potential line capacity and easier network management.

XO Communications, a major competitive telecommunications carrier, is now offering private data networking for metropolitan and intercity services using Ethernet over copper technology from Hatteras Networks. Where available, you can now get 10 Mbps point to point connectivity with a standard 10BaseT interface at each end. That's even if the terminations are on opposite sides of the country. Think of it as a VERY long LAN. XO supplies the equipment and monitors the line 24x7.

The technology from Hatteras Networks is based on the "Ethernet in the First Mile Project", also known at IEEE 802.3ah. The physical layer employs SHDSL (Symmetric High-speed DSL) with a maximum rate of 2.3 Mbps per pair or E-SHDSL, Extended SHDSL, with a maximum rate of 5.7 Mbps per pair. Two pair can conceivably carry the full 10 Mbps Ethernet, although SHDSL bandwidths decrease with distance from the central office. Hatteras equipment can bond up to 8 copper pair for a maximum bandwidth of 45 Mbps, giving 10 Mbps over extended distances.

XO offers mid-band Ethernet in major cities where they have installed the Hatteras equipment in telco COs using existing copper lines. An alternative elsewhere is to bond conventional T1 lines to create 2x ( 3Mbps), 3x (4.5 Mbps), 4x (6 Mbps) and so on. T1 lines are nearly universally available, as they were engineered to run on 2 pair each of conventional copper phone lines.

Is your business pressed for bandwidth? Our product experts are anxious to help you get the most bandwidth for your dollar, using highly competitive services from XO and other competitive carriers. Just call the toll free number or run a instant online quote using our MegaTrunks Mid-Band Ethernet Service.