Verizon Catches 10-Gig Fever

Verizon Enterprise Solutions is making a 10-Gbit/s push in Ethernet services, claiming to be one of the first large carriers to bring Ethernet local area network (E-LAN) and Ethernet virtual private line (EVPL) services up to that speed.

An E-LAN is a multipoint switched service; EVPL is a point-to-point service. Both are coming up to the 10-Gbit/s level as enterprises connect large data centers or consolidate data centers into larger ones.

"What they're telling us is that the applications are becoming very complex, and that complexity is driving a need for more bandwidth," says Jeff Schwartz, Verizon Business's group manager of product marketing.

Technically, Verizon's announcement today is only introducing the standardization of these services -- meaning the services are now available to all comers. Verizon has been working on them on a custom basis; the 10-Gbit/s EVPL is already in place for a West Coast customer, for instance.

Among the competitors Verizon will face at 10 Gbit/s is AboveNet Inc. (NYSE: ABVT), which is using its fiber network to deliver services of 100 Mbit/s and faster.

AboveNet's point-to-point Metro Ethernet Dedicated service, offering speeds up to 10-Gbit/s on a U.S. nationwide network, was named a Leading Lights finalist this year. But the service is only available on a point-to-point basis. (See The 2008 Leading Lights Finalists.)

Verizon has plans to expand its EVPL services internationally. It's also going to extend its virtual private LAN service (VPLS) beyond U.S. borders, as promised last year. Both moves are on the slate for 2009, Schwartz says, although that would appear to put the globalization of VPLS a tad behind schedule. (See 2007 Leading Lights: Where Are They Now?)

— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading