SMBs Seeking Ethernet Services - Video Drives Verizon, Comcast Rollouts

Lost in a laser focus on providing broadband bandwidth for residences is demand for higher speed offerings – Carrier Ethernet services -for small and midsize businesses (SMB) – thanks in part to video-driven applications and products.

In the race to extend the reach of these services, a Verizon (News - Alert) exec said last week that his company is planning to open its FiOS (fiber) retail network – which passes roughly 19 million homes and businesses – to third parties looking to quench SMBs’ thirst for high-speed connectivity.

Comcast (News - Alert) already offers Ethernet services in over two dozen major metro areas across the country, with speeds ranging from 1 mbit/sec to 10 gbit/sec. The cable giant has left the door open to additional rollouts based on demand.

Bandwidth Demands

With SMBs increasing moving images (healthcare) and videos, consuming HD conferencing services, collecting data from mobile devices (sensors) and transferring video surveillance footage, it’s not tough at all to understand why cablecos and telcos are pushing Ethernet services to this expanding customer base.

Comcast has even aggressively taken to the airwaves to inform the masses that its offer a wide array of speeds for Ethernet as part of its Business Class menu of services for SMBs. Their menu also includes video, data, and high-def video (packaged), unified communication services, and hosted (cloud) options.

Comcast’s suite of services for SMBs include – Ethernet Dedicated Internet, Ethernet Network Service, Ethernet Private/Virtual Private Line Services and focuses on providing the offerings over a redundant, fiber-optic network infrastructure. Many cable operators began by offering Carrier Ethernet over a hybrid fiber-coaxial network infrastructure.

Doing Business Online

Video isn’t driving all of the SMB demand for carrier-provided Ethernet services, but it’s a huge contributor given that much of the way businesses do business has already gone online. Add in that many SMBs, some of the smallest, buy a set of TV channels for their waiting rooms/areas.

Building a true broadband economy requires first building a broadband infrastructure that businesses and consumers can use to buy and sell services. The need for Internet speed race that still runs along between telcos and cablecos provides new and better opportunities for business efficiency and growth than ever before.

SMBs Drive Video Value

Here are some real-life, real-ROI examples of advanced video use from presentations at the recent Video World Conference & Expo.

• Video sales pitches---DYN uses them to solicit business, complete with music and vital information, as a far more engaging means than paper/direct mail to get the attention of potential customers.
• Iwowwe, uses video e-mail and conferencing to bulk up direct sales efforts and supercharge marketing undertakings.

Applications are reshaping the way businesses of all sizes harness video to expand their brand.

• Brightcove, provides cloud content solutions that enable businesses to publish and distribute digital media, and include online video and mobile application platforms.

“Consumers spend more time on mobile apps than they do on the mobile web, underscoring the significant opportunity and importance of a solid app strategy,” said Chris Johnston, vice-president of digital media solutions for the firm in past comments.

If you want a HD-resolution view of what ha SMBs scrambling to higher-bandwidth services, just take a look at forward thinking companies already using video to change the way they do business – without breaking the bank and in the toughest of economic times.