Frame relay invasion >BY SANDRA GUY, News Editor

Just weeks after U S West unveiled its high-bit-rate digital subscriber line service, its data integration arm entered the long-distance frame relay market in 34 states outside its territory.

The move positions !nterprise Networking Services to offer the service to businesses nationwide after it obtains regulatory approval to do so within its 14-state service area.

In 16 select markets, !nterprise becomes the first Bell company unit to offer local and long-distance frame relay by combining intraLATA and interLATA capabilities in one package (see map). It plans to double the number of targeted markets by mid-year.

A key feature is !nterprise's decision to backhaul circuits at no extra charge for businesses outside the targeted cities, said Tom Jenkins, a broadband consultant with TeleChoice, Verona, N.J. Those businesses still would not be able to access all of !nterprise's frame relay value-added benefits. Many service providers, especially regional providers, charge a backhaul fee if a business is not located within their networks.

!nterprise has benefited from learning how to efficiently design a network without traditional LATA restrictions, said Mike Sapien, vice president of national expansion for !nterprise.

The carrier also is testing customer premises equipment to decide how best to offer a CPE package. Among the services being considered are frame relay for Internet protocol, Systems Network Architecture, video-over-frame relay and even voice-over-frame relay, said Todd Hirsch, director of national expansion for !nterprise.

An AT&T spokesman said his company expected the competition because of the Telecommunications Reform Act. AT&T leads in frame relay market share, offers national and international coverage and provides closed-loop architecture, unlike !nterprise, the spokesman said.