MTU green fields: DSL equipment vendors jump to serve burgeoning market

The multitenant unit market is huge, according to industry analysts. Equipment vendors have caught on, making it easier and cheaper to provide DSL access to businesses through a variety of solutions.

Installed in central offices (COs), building basements, closets and telco cross-connect devices, DSL access solutions for MTUs abound.

Interspeed's latest entry is DART, an eight-port access router, which packs routing and switching into one unit. It eliminates the need for an external router, DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) and CSU/DSU. DART also supports IP multicasting, allowing multiple computers to view one piece of digital information simultaneously. It can transmit data and voice at speeds up to 2.3 Mb/s.

A 24-port access router is "not cost-effective for smaller MTUs who only need six ports," said Skip Carlson, director of product marketing at Interspeed. The company, which went public on Sept. 24, aimed DART specifically at service providers and MTUs that need fewer than the 15 to 24 ports offered by the Interspeed 500 and 1000 access products.

"We haven't seen anyone else make a play for that segment of the market," said Laurie Falconer, DSL analyst at TeleChoice. "Most DSLAMs and routers are targeted at larger players."

BridgeBand Communications, an ISP and competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) in Bozeman, Mont., plans to deploy DART in several COs and MTUs. DART fits inside U S West's cross-connect devices, enabling BridgeBand to offer DSL services to MTUs more than 3 miles from the CO, a necessity in rural Bozeman.

"You get all the stuff you need [with DART]. Hook a T-1 into one end and the phone line into the other, and you're ready to go," said Joe Long, president of BridgeBand. "Because we may only get five to six customers in one area, it's effective for outreach without upping cost."

Copper Mountain also has an all-in-one access router for the MTU market: the CopperEdge 150. It supports at least 24 ports, routing, multiplexing, WAN and IP multicasting - in a size that offers service providers more options and a better value in the long run,said Richard Sekar, director of product marketing at Copper Mountain.

The CopperEdge 150 transmits symmetrical DSL at 1.5 Mb/s, allowing data exchange carrier Pacific Crest Networks to provide access points for medium-sized and large ISPs. Pacific Crest offers multiple connections into LECs and CLECs for companies that can't afford the cost of going it alone.

Another option for the MTU and CO is the RBOX, a multiservice aggregator from Advanced Switching Communications. The RBOX doesn't provide routing, but it is scalable, with 12 or 21 ports to start. Suitable for the basement, closet or CO, the RBOX will work with frame relay equipment. The company markets the device to service providers who want to "pay as [they] grow," said Larry Kraft, vice president of marketing at ASC.

"The RBOX is flexible on both the service and networking sides. You don't have to sacrifice functionality for a smaller number of ports," Kraft said. The company saw a hole in the data access area of MTUs and COs, so concentrated on filling that need.

Not only have these companies struck an underserved market, they also may have uncovered a shift in business development locations across the country. "There seems to be a growing trend in U.S. cities where we don't see as many high rises going up. More business are in smaller buildings," Falconer said. And soon those smaller buildings will need DSL.