Layer by layer

While most service providers don't like to talk about the need to use third parties for things such as interconnection or filling footprint gaps, it is likely they will need a helping hand in some areas.

That's because the proliferation of service providers has created an interconnection nightmare. A few years ago it may have taken 60 days to set up an OC-3 connection, but today it takes an estimated 150 to 240 days, according to The Yankee Group research.

Out of the escalated need to interconnect have sprouted companies focused on helping service providers interconnect and provision service at a faster rate.

One Dallas-based provider, LayerOne, is trying to augment the typical neutral Internet exchange by using optical networking instead of ATM. With the use of optical transport exchanges, the company can link together service providers in a centralized location such as a carrier hotel.

“There is an abundance of fiber optic cable in the world—although few of those networks have access to each other, even though they [typically] converge in the same areas such as a central business district,” said Alexander Muse, CEO of LayerOne.

LayerOne leases space in carrier hotels and installs optical networking equipment, conduit, ducts and fiber systems to interconnect providers within the carrier hotel.

“We help them exchange the fiber with one another,” Muse said. “They can go metro to metro, metro to long-haul, long-haul to long-haul, or whatever combination they need.”

Because the optical-based platform uses dense wave division multiplexing, providers can use gigabit Ethernet on one side of the network and Sonet on the other, Muse said. By creating channels over glass instead of ATM, they don't have to worry about issues such as buffering or quality-of-service problems, he said. And rather than interconnecting at the edge of the network, the core is far more logical, Muse said: “It should be done at the fattest place possible. That way they can save time and money.”

Another company, Universal Access, is providing neutral interconnection points as well. But according to Universal Access co-founder and Vice Chairman Bob Pommer, the company provides more than just an exchange point; it maintains a database of what companies are connecting where and other related information.

“The neutral [connection sites] fulfill a need for those that want to buy bandwidth, but they have more of a self-service model where they do their own negotiations and management,” Pommer said. “And typically, providers don't want that headache.”

Currently, Universal Access is using passive optical exchanges to link providers and networks, but it plans to migrate to optical switches so DWDM can be used.

LayerOne and Universal Access are not alone, though. Companies such as Colo.com and Equinix also play in the space. “Optical interconnects are essential, but the first movers will clearly have an advantage,” said Gary Kim, president of NxGEN Data Research, noting that providers won't want to interconnect with several different companies in one area.

“We want as many on-ramps and off-ramps as possible,” said a Level 3 Communications spokesman. “And each point is just one piece of the puzzle.”

Briefly

Yipes uses Genuity backbone

Gigabit Ethernet provider Yipes Communications has agreed to buy Internet connectivity services from Genuity to provision about one-third of its national infrastructure. In return, Genuity has invested $10 million in Yipes.