CLECs enter the campus environment

As asymmetrical digital subscriber line-based services become more widely deployed, the campus environment has emerged as a key market segment. That's because these facilities have privately owned loop facilities and a relatively high concentration of customers demanding high-speed, differentiated, remote access services. Also, these users are generally not threatened by new technology. Competitive local exchange carriers in particular are uniquely positioned to serve this market segment.

The campus environment, featuring a concentration of targeted users, is generally defined as apartment complexes, business parks, university campuses and resort complexes designed for the business traveler. Users in these environments will require access to a broad range of services that have a common requirement: high-speed access. Budget-minded university students will want a low-cost, flat-rate service. They are less concerned with bandwidth commitments, but latency and availability are important. On the other hand, premium services targeted at small businesses, telecommuters and high-powered Internet users will provide higher bandwidth and tiered services that offer bandwidth commitments.

In these campus environments, the loop plant is the second part of the equation. Typically, loop facilities are privately owned, particularly in newer complexes and new constructions. Developers have realized the value of owning the loop plant and are establishing the local exchange demarcation at a central point on the campus. This allows them to offer high-speed services that generate a new revenue stream while providing a differentiating feature within their complexes. This strategy is becoming more common for developers building new complexes near universities and where large corporate facilities exist.

For the CLEC, these environments eliminate a significant roadblock to offering service, namely access to the local loop. This access allows CLECs to quickly deploy the infrastructure and begin marketing ADSL service. CLECs can also provide great flexibility for the end user by offering multiple ISP destinations, along with corporate destinations. In the university environment, the loop plant is often the property of the university. Therefore, connectivity to network and computing resources is commonplace for the student. ADSL allows the university to take advantage of the loop plant for both voice and data services, thus eliminating an overlay of networks. With construction of new facilities, the cost for a data cable infrastructure can be significantly reduced.

There are unique advantages for the loop plant in these environments. The loop lengths are relatively short, which allows carriers to offer tiered services to the entire campus population. Also, these networks are free of bridge taps, which can reduce the loop bandwidth, and load coils, which must be removed.

The broad range of ADSL-based services that can be offered in this market segment include Internet, telecommuter and remote office access.

As ADSL deployment greatly accelerates in 1999, the multitenant population-with infrastructure advantages and a high concentration of remote access users-should emerge as an early high-growth market segment.