Comptel: XO strengthens wholesale push

XO Communications added two more pieces to its wholesale puzzle today, announcing completion of the 18,000-mile fiber optic network and a business realignment that separates its wholesale operation from its sales to large enterprise customers.

The fiber optic network reaches 75 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. with 100 Gb/s capacity, and plans to upgrade that to 400 Gb/s, said Ernie Ortega, president of carrier services at XO.

“We have been selling on the network, and we are in the middle of provisioning the services we have already sold,” Ortega said. “From what we have experienced so far, lighting the long-haul network opened up a part of the business we haven’t had visibility into before.”

New Internet applications such as video, the growth in demand for diversity in the light of consolidation and the rise of other markets including wireless backhaul have made this a good time for XO to launch its long-distance wholesale business, Ortega added.

As part of that effort, XO Communications has now reorganized into two units, XO Business Services and XO Carrier Services, in part to eliminate the perception that XO is competing with its wholesale customers.

“We think this gives up more credibility,” Ortega said. “What this allows us to do is focus on our market without drawing on any shared resources. We can align our processes and our decision-making in a way that is consistent with the market we are in.”

In reality, most companies compete and partner at different times, he added, but eliminating the perception of a conflict is important.