XO Communications Advances Nationwide Availability Of Ethernet Services

Herndon, VA - Demonstrating its position as a leader in the Ethernet services market, XO Communications has significantly expanded its nationwide Ethernet services footprint, enabling more businesses, enterprises and service providers than ever to benefit from high-speed, scalable network connectivity provided by Ethernet technology.

XO Communications is now capable of delivering Ethernet services to more than half a million business locations in 75 major metropolitan markets across the United States utilizing its nationwide fiber networks, expanded deployment of Ethernet over copper technology, and fixed broadband wireless capabilities. By uniquely leveraging these multiple network access methods, XO Communications now offers one of the most ubiquitous Ethernet services footprints nationwide.

According to the research firm IDC, the U.S. market for Ethernet services is growing dramatically and will increase from $1.3B in 2007 at compounded annual growth rate of 36 percent to $6B in 2012. Growth is being driven by customers' increasing willingness to use Ethernet services for new networking requirements and as a replacement for legacy data services. Demonstrating this demand, XO Communications' Ethernet services revenue increased more than 50 percent between 2007 and 2006. In addition to increasing XO Communications' ability to serve this fast-growing market, the expanded footprint also increases the company's ability to deliver other services, such as dedicated Internet access, converged IP and MPLS-based IP-VPN services, which can utilize Ethernet as a network access method.

"Ethernet's ease of use, scalability and price are all appealing characteristics stimulating strong demand by companies," said Courtney Munroe, group vice president, worldwide telecommunications at IDC. "In addition, the growing range of bandwidth options and solutions offered by service providers such as XO Communications will lead to faster adoption in this rapidly growing segment."

"XO Communications is breaking down the barriers to the wider availability of Ethernet with the unrivalled reach of our Ethernet service delivery capabilities," said Randy Nicklas, chief technology officer at XO Communications. "Our broad nationwide footprint leverages multiple access technologies to support businesses and service providers that are increasingly relying on Ethernet to support mission-critical applications and data across their wide area networks."

Traditionally, the availability of Ethernet services has been limited to locations that have direct access to fiber networks. Today, only 15 percent of U.S. buildings with 20 or more employees have direct fiber access, according to the research firm Vertical Systems. XO Communications has taken a leadership role in expanding the availability of Ethernet services to more locations through its utilization of multiple network access platforms, which include:

• Extensive Nationwide Inter-City and Metro Fiber Networks. XO Communications offers Ethernet services at speeds from 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps to businesses and service providers in 75 major metropolitan markets through its 18,000 route mile inter-city fiber optic network and nearly one million fiber miles of metro networks.
• The Industry's Largest Deployment of Ethernet over Copper Technology. With deployments today in 75 major metropolitan markets, Ethernet over copper technology enables XO Communications to extend its Ethernet services footprint beyond its fiber network and enable businesses at copper-fed locations to take advantage of mid-band Ethernet services at speeds from 10 Mbps to 88 Mbps for the first time.
• Fixed Broadband Wireless Capabilities. XO Communications currently has the capability to utilize fixed broadband wireless technology in 36 major metropolitan markets to further expand its network footprint and deliver Ethernet services directly to businesses at speeds ranging from 10Mbps to 155Mbps.

SOURCE: XO Communications