It looks as if we picked the right time to raise the topic of Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certification.

Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) Business Class earlier this week became the first Ethernet service provider in North America to achieve certification for all six of the MEF 's Carrier Ethernet 2.0 business service classes, a development that further shows how cable TV network operators -- not telcos -- are the ones pushing the Ethernet envelope in the competitive business market.

The distinction, along with the fact that TWC has 24 Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certified Professionals on its team, gives a cable operator that is under pressure on other market fronts, such as its traditional video sector, a competitive edge in the Ethernet services market. (See TWC: How the Mighty Have Fallen .)

Several other North American providers, including AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), tw telecom inc. (Nasdaq: TWTC), Lumos Networks, Fibertech Networks LLC , and others, have achieved CE 2.0 certification on at least one service, but there are only two other Ethernet service providers in the world that have achieved certification for all six retail business service classes -- Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk. (Telkom) , according to Daniel Bar-Lev, director of certification and strategic programs for the MEF.

If some in the industry question the value of CE 2.0 in today's market, when the need to address multiple classes of service may not yet be so keenly felt, TWC is not among them. In an email to Light Reading, Satya Parimi, group vice president of product management at TWC, says:

The TWC news follows recent CE 2.0-related vendor announcements from ADVA and Calix. All this activity suggests we picked the right time to ask if 2014 will be the year of CE 2.0. (See ADVA Launches CE 2.0 Professional Services, Calix Pushing CE 2.0 Solutions, and Is 2014 the Year of Carrier Ethernet 2.0?)

Since then, the Metro Ethernet Forum insisted that the CE 2.0 certification pipeline has been filling up, suggesting more CE 2.0 carrier announcements could be imminent. In any case, TWC has officially thrown the gauntlet down for the rest of North America. (See MEF: CE 2.0 Certification Pipeline Filling Up.)

— Dan O'Shea, Managing Editor, Light Reading