InterconX Alliance to Create North American ATM Network
[using NN frame relay/ATM switches]
By KATE GERWIG
techweb.cmp.com
In the rush to compete with the biggest
communications providers, hardly a week
goes by without new data and Internet
telephony companies forming alliances with
other players to get to corporate enterprise
customers faster.
IXC Communications Inc., the bandwidth
wholesaler building one of the biggest digital
networks, wants to serve the same business
customers as its own traditional
customers--AT&T, MCI and Sprint. To get
there faster, IXC has formed InterconX, an
alliance with competitive local exchange
carrier ACSI (www.acsi.net) and Fonorola, a
Canadian facilities-based voice and data
provider, to create a North American ATM
network that can provide end-to-end
corporate voice and data services.
IXC's new InterconX alliance includes more
than 21,000 fiber miles throughout the United
States and Canada on a network that can
handle speeds of up to OC-12. The
InterconX infrastructure uses Newbridge
Networks Corp.'s frame relay/ATM switches
at its core, according to David Spencer, vice
president of broadband services at IXC
Communications.
"We weren't everywhere with our Newbridge
frame relay/ATM switches. Each of us faced
the prospect of deploying in the range of 60
switches to provide really competitive
coverage in the U.S. and Canada. By doing it
together, we have the capacity now," Spencer
said.
InterconX will start by offering basic WAN
and LAN connectivity to businesses, as well
as multimedia services for large entertainment
companies. IXC and the other providers plan
to be there when ATM services for enterprise
customers take off.
The alliance hasn't won major corporate
contracts yet and has to establish new sales
channels to reach business customers,
Spencer said.
With ATM switches at its core, InterconX can
provide quality of service for its customers. It
can also run Internet applications over frame
relay or ATM for customers who need it. The
alliance members plan to offer virtual private
networks, intranets, extranets and voice over
IP, Spencer said, although a timetable has not
been set.
This type of partnership is crucial to the
success of second-tier providers if they want
to win major customer networks, according to
TeleChoice's broadband analyst Tom Jenkins.
"Service providers must be able to reach all of
the customer's sites. By partnering with other
providers with the same infrastructure, they
have in effect extended their own network."
By including ACSI in the agreement, Fonorola
and IXC will be able to provide end-to-end
solutions in locations where ACSI has
facilities, which is the same type of solution
AT&T and WorldCom can provide with their
acquisitions of TCG CERFnet and MFS
Communications, respectively, Jenkins said.
The InterconX alliance is open to adding new
partners, Spencer said, if their networks are
based on Newbridge network management.
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