Hi Mike, more on the MFNX colocation issue from Telephony Mag:
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Co-location breaks out
Bell Atlantic, MFN strike dark fiber deal
LIANE H. LABARBA
After lengthy negotiations, Metromedia Fiber Network has managed to get a hall
pass for dark fiber directly into Bell Atlantic's central offices. Under the
agreement, MFN will be allowed to install dark fiber, which will be sold to
competitive local exchange carriers and other carriers in Bell Atlantic's COs,
circumventing the need to locate lines in a co-location cage.
Initially, the service will be tested in Bell Atlantic's New York COs. Upon
completion of the trial, Bell Atlantic will make the service generally available.
"This landmark agreement is the result of a collaborative effort on both of our
parts," said Howard Finkelstein, president of MFN. But both parties had very
different strategies in mind for pursuing the agreement. For MFN, its goals are to
enable CLECs to enter markets faster and more cost-effectively. "It is a key MFN
strategy to provide dark fiber right to the edge for our carrier customers," said
Finkelstein. In turn, Bell Atlantic is making significant steps to enable
competition.
"I think Bell Atlantic is further along in this particular curve than the other
[regional bell operating companies], and there is a specific reason for this," said
Mike Smith, managing director at Stratecast Partners. "Bell Atlantic desperately
wants into the in-region long-distance business, just like all the other RBOCs,
but the difference is Bell Atlantic can almost see approval," he added.
Bell Atlantic is trying to prove to regulatory bodies that it is doing its best to meet
demands for competition, said Smith.
"One of our goals is to promote competition, and this agreement offers a creative
solution for those goals and Metromedia's," said Jennifer VanScoter, director of
connection services negotiation and policy for Bell Atlantic.
The agreement doesn't address key issues such as the scalability of the
operations support system (OSS) platform and the establishment of penalties if
Bell Atlantic doesn't meet OSS-related specifications, said Smith.
In theory, Bell Atlantic is enabling its competitors to potentially take some of its
business, but the reality is that it recognizes competition is essential to win
in-region long-distance relief, added Smith.
In addition to the Bell Atlantic agreement, MFN announced a 20-year $57 million
contract for dark fiber with Focal Communications and more European
expansions into London and Amsterdam. With the European expansion, MFN
plans to mirror its U.S. dark fiber model with 166,320 fiber kilometers in Europe.
MFN will use a meshed network architecture in Europe to interconnect carrier
hotels together, said Vincent Galluccio, senior vice president and managing
director for MFN. |
