Good point

XO to use consecutive point architecture XO Communications confirmed its standing as an access-agnostic communications provider last week with the addition of point-to-consecutive-point fixed wireless architecture to its networking portfolio.

The move follows completion of successful field trials of a consecutive point network in Boston using equipment from Triton Network Systems. XO has signed a nonexclusive contract with Triton to provision consecutive point radio equipment transmitting at OC-3. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

For XO, consecutive point architecture adds to the company's portfolio of broadband access technologies, which already includes point-to-point and point-to-multipoint fixed wireless access, fiber and DSL.

This addition gives the company another last-mile option when there are construction delays for fiber builds or line-of-sight problems for other wireless architectures, said Paul Keefe, vice president and general manager of XO Massachusetts. "This allows us to extend our network," Keefe said. "If I've got a fiber loop that isn't closed, I can use [a consecutive point ring]."

Skip Speaks, president and CEO of Triton, also categorized the technology as an alternative to fiber in urban settings. "The most compelling situation is where a network operator wants to build a metropolitan area network connecting a key building in a city and they would ideally like to have big, fat pipes," he said. "If the world were perfect, they would do it with fiber. The problem has been getting that big pipe to reach every building in the city."

Instead, consecutive point architecture "to the network, looks like fiber."

Indeed, consecutive point's architecture and functionality intentionally mimics that of a fiber Sonet ring. When one section of the ring fails, traffic is rerouted automatically in the opposite direction.

Though more expensive, consecutive point architecture has "higher bandwidth than the conventional point-to-point systems, which are somewhat limited in the number of T-1s that can be deployed," Keefe said.

The contract with XO, one of the country's largest local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) license holders, is a significant step forward for consecutive point networks and for Triton, which "has driven consecutive point networks in the marketplace starting in 1997, when the company was founded," Speaks said.

Consecutive point systems should become one of XO's primary fixed wireless architectures, said James Mendelson, an analyst for The Strategis Group. "It's an effective way to use multiple point-to-point links," and one that should allow them to utilize their LMDS holdings to add customers, he said.

Moreover, XO's willingness to pursue several last-mile technologies such as consecutive-point architecture has helped the company thrive among competitive carriers, especially compared with those that focus on one specific solution such as DSL, Mendelson said.

"It's better for a company to have a portfolio of technologies in its offering baskets," he said. "I think that's why the market likes them."