Breaking out of walled gardens: The promise of ethernet interconnection

Overview:

COLT has always been a pioneer in the delivery of Ethernet services. Our Ethernet capability stretches back to 1993 when we launched our first point-to-point Ethernet service. We quickly developed it into our standard Ethernet service, COLT LANL ink, and followed that with Ethernet over DSL , hub-and-spoke and any-to-any connectivity. In 2006 we introduced Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM ) over unbundled local loop that delivers speeds of up to 40Mbit/s symmetrically. Our services are Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) certified, and for two years running we have been the MEF European Service Provider of the Year. Ethernet as a technical networking standard is dominant in networks within buildings and is growing fast in metro and wide area networks â€" and with advances in so-called carrier Ethernet, it has the potential to be a primary global transport protocol for future converged services.

Developments continue to improve the scalability, resilience and management of Ethernet while maintaining its low cost. With Eth ernet interconnects, operators can break out of the walled gardens that limit their reach and address many more business customers. Ethernet Network-to-Network Interconnects (E-NNIs) are very close to being agreed as a technical standard but, to be truly global, operators need to work together on the type of interconnect, systems interfaces, policies, rules and the commercial terms. This paper looks at the options for all of these, and makes recommendations for the way forward.

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