August 7, 2000

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Get More Bandwidth For Less

Providers of metropolitan area network services use multiplexers to boost fiber capacity

By Bob Wallace

More on optical networking:

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apid advancements in optical networking equipment are fueling the deployment of a new breed of managed metropolitan area network services that promise companies more bandwidth at lower prices.

Upstart service providers Yipes Inc. and Metromedia Fiber Networks Inc. are among the first to offer the managed services based on optical multiplexers, which can multiply fiber capacity by sending traffic on numerous separate colors or wavelengths over a single fiber. The service providers package flexible bandwidth with access equipment, installation, and monitoring for a monthly fee.

The metropolitan area services also let users choose from a wider array of speeds that can be used to link sites in and around a city. Capacity can be increased in days, rather than the weeks it requires today. For example, Yipes offers bandwidth in 1 Mbps increments between 1 Mbps and 1 Gbps and says it offers twice the band-width of conventional data communications services for 80% of the cost.

"We'd want the flexibility to buy bandwidth from a big menu, and having the carrier provide the pieces as a turnkey package would mean we could get out of the continual management of the network," says Virgil Palmer, global director of telecom and networks at Air Products & Chemicals Inc. in Allentown, Pa. "We've already maxed out one microwave link, and we think that Yipes and others are using the latest equipment to create innovative ideas on how to deliver bandwidth."

Today's optical multiplexers can provide metropolitan area network links at speeds of 155 Mbps, 622 Mbps, and 1 Gbps for the cost of 1.5 Mbps and 45 Mbps provided by Sonet multiplexers used in earlier MAN services, says Jim Lawrence, program director at analyst firm Stratecast Partners.

The challenge to Yipes and Metromedia is to extend the reach of their existing networks and add more in other cities, says Daniel Briere, founder of telecom consulting firm TeleChoice. "Although expansions and new builds are under way," he says, "some companies may choose an interim strategy if their city isn't on anyone's to-do list."

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