New Edge launches wholesale aggregation service

New Edge Networks is stepping into a new role as broadband aggregator, launching a wholesale service called Project BigFoot. Utilizing the numerous access agreements and partnerships New Edge has sewn up in the last year, the carrier now is capable of offering some sort of broadband service to almost every address in the U.S., New Edge officials said. The carrier is offering that massive footprint to its service provider customers, allowing them to use a single high-capacity connection to New Edge’s network and have wholesale access networks nationwide.

New Edge CEO Dan Moffat called the service "broadband glue," a way for New Edge customers to deal with a single provider, a single network and a single point of content, yet still have a wide range of diversity in their services. New Edge owns a network of a 800 central office footprint as well as a nationwide frame relay network, and through partners such as Covad Communications, DSL.net and even Verizon Communications, it can provision numerous DSL technologies, frame, ATM and VPN services throughout the country.

The service also helps service providers avoid paying for expensive aggregation circuits with each carrier it contracts with, which can limit the number of wholesale relationships and their geographic reach, Moffat said.

New Edge announced its first customer for the BigFoot service Tuesday, Cybera, a Nashville private networking solutions company.