Cable joins MCI broadband portfolio

MCI is adding high-speed cable access to its broadband services portfolio, extending the reach of its broadband services to about 90% of the U.S.

Working with wholesale partner New Edge Networks, MCI already reaches most of the country with high-speed DSL service, or through its own satellite connections, says Alan Lough, senior manager, Internet services, for MCI. The company enables business customers to deal with one service provider and get a consistent experience in connecting a diverse set of sites.

"Cable added 4% total incremental coverage to that mix, so it’s a bit of a filler from that perspective, but it can be very important to some customers," he said. "It varies tremendously from opportunity to opportunity."

MCI will also gain access to cable modem lines via its New Edge relationship, using three cable companies: Cox Communications, Charter and Time-Warner. The nation’s largest cable company, Comcast, does not participate in wholesale sales, Lough said.

MCI offers national or large regional companies with many distributed offices, including retailers, insurance companies, tax preparation firms and more, the opportunity to have a one-stop shop for secure broadband access in a wide range of flavors.

"We succeed in meeting their needs for this type of connection," says Carol Ballengee, product manager, IP virtual private network services for MCI. "We’ve taken the service that Alan’s team has brought in and the benefits by being the one-stop shop, provision and bill and save customers those headaches."

The cable access service speeds will range from 768 kbps downstream and 256 kbps upstream to 1.5 Megabits downstream and 256kbps upstream, depending on the cable provider. Each site will get one static IP address, Lough said. The service can be installed separate of or on top of existing cable TV service.

MCI will provide all customer support for ordering, order status, billing, and tech support but installation and on-site support will come from the cable provider.