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Answering the call  for an enhanced connection experience based on the rapid growth of mobile backhaul, video and virtualization, Telx today announced the debut of Ethernet Exchange, a new solution aimed at helping service providers and enterprises to interconnect their Ethernet networks. Company officials said that Ethernet Exchange will ultimately provide greater reach to service providers’ end customers.

 

The New York City-based company has 28,000 interconnections in its portfolio, most of them physical cross-connects, but include a growing number of virtual interconnections.

 

Traditionally, Ethernet services have been limited to the geographic areas in which a carrier’s network is deployed, but there is a significant customer demand for universal Ethernet services.

 

In an interview this week with Rose Klimovich, vice president of product development of Telx, she explained how the Telx Ethernet Exchange platform, enabled by Cisco (News - Alert) router and software management technology, is an easier way to connect buyers and sellers of Ethernet services.

 

Service providers can connect their Ethernet networks without going through the time-consuming, costly process of setting up individual, complex interconnection agreements or building out local fiber networks.

 

For companies trying to extend their reach, there’s several ways they can accomplish that goal. The first option is they can put fiber in the ground, which is very costly; “or they can do private interconnect agreements, which can be cumbersome and also expensive, or go with Ethernet Exchange, which is the new way of bringing together buyers and sellers,” she said.

 

To expand the reach of service providers’ networks, Telx Ethernet Exchange will enable service providers with a universal service that will also include a consultative approach, she said.

 

“The way you would see the more universal or consistent service across territories is that the carriers would hook up to the Ethernet Exchange and that would allow them to use each other’s networks and that would give you a more consistent Ethernet service across the country  and across the world,” Klimovich said. “I might still have to do individual contracts, but at least I would have the same technology across all of this, so I think it makes the while issue of reach much easier, much faster and much less costly.”

 

More than 50 percent of Telx’s fiber cross-connects are now Ethernet versus TDM, a shift that has been occurring over the past few months, she added.

 

According to Klimovich, Telx Ethernet Exchange will become available in seven interconnection data centers over the next nine months with initial customers being part of a charter program in the third quarter of 2010.

 

Telx Ethernet Exchange is powered by Cisco’s ASR 9000 Series Aggregation, which she said will allow users to quickly establish new virtual connections and take advantage of a reporting platform that will allow customers to see inventory and metrics to help run their business.

 

Carriers have traditionally been limited in offering a seamless service outside of their service area due to the complex and time consuming challenges of establishing multiple, separate interconnection agreements with other carriers.

 

“The biggest issue today has been if you’re a carrier and you want to connect in a region outside of where you are today,” such as an international carrier outside of the United States – it can be difficult for companies to distinguish which carriers have Ethernet presence, Klimovich explained.

 

Ethernet Exchange has been on the horizon for Telx for quite some time. Last October, I sat down with Telx CEO Eric Shepcaro (News - Alert) at Comptel in Orlando, where he explained that carriers have been limited in offering a seamless service outside of their service area due to the complex and time-consuming challenges of establishing multiple, separate interconnection agreements with other carriers.

 

“A customer today, if they want to get out of a territory, if they want to do Ethernet connection, we can do that through a physical cross connect, on a TIE platform, so there are definitely ways already that customers can extend their footprint that are more simplified and elegant,” Shepcaro said at the time, adding that new applications, video and cloud services are driving the need for expanded services, and ultimately, contributing to a strong period of development for Telx.

 

Business Ethernet is the fastest growing strategic data offering for service providers, growing

at a compound rate of 24 percent per year over the next five years, according to Rosemary Cochran, principal, Vertical Systems Group. “The rapid growth of mobile backhaul, video, virtualization and other mission-critical applications is fueling the demand for scalable, high-bandwidth and low-latency Ethernet connectivity from metro areas to broader geographies,” she said.

 

Telx is currently looking for members to join its charter member program who in exchange for getting a free port on the service and flat OVC charge,  will help Telx with respect to what the portal should look like and help with testing as well as obtain additional members.