re: fiber resellers
JN, I would prefer discussing this group in general terms, since I am unaware of the principal players you mentioned in your message, much less their specific strategies and goals.
Yes, there are other firms (and I suspect that there will be very many others, too) now in the market place who will purchase bulk bandwidth, or bundles of fiber, for resale. Most CLECs nowadays who don't have the resources to pull their own, in fact, are now buying into this space from the larger fiber barons, metropolitan fiber carriers, and in some cases, the local electrical contractors who provide fiber services for the larger carriers, as well.
MFNX, WCG, IIXC, LVLT, QWST, Telergy, and a growing list of others, all, to some degree, sell their strands (and lambdas, now) to lower echelon players in the pecking order.
One such carrier that I recently became aware of in NY City is Millennium Optical Networks Inc. (MONI), led by an individual who I know from another lifetime, when he was at Western Union Telegraph, many years ago. He later went on to head up WU Advanced Transmission Systems, a sort of spin off from the parent WU, until they were bought out. This new incarnation in the way of MONI appears to be along the same lines as ATS, only several generations more advanced in its infrastructure design.
mopticalnets.com
Which leads me to a good question: What will the companies you mentioned be positioning themselves as? Conventional CLECs? Providers of extended LANs? Internet On-ramp providers? Remote storage area network (SAN) providers?
Which reminds me, there is another startup doing primarily SAN transport and their name is very fittingly, Storage Networks, Inc. who you can read about at:
storagenetworks.com
Like I mentioned in an earlier post today, those carriers and network providers who sell bandwidth exclusively might have an easy time of it now, but they will eventually land on hard times later on, unless they sweeten their offerings with services that people can use. They must introduce a number of measurable value components to the bandwidth supply element that both differentiate them from the others, while at the same time, hopefully, providing incentives for their customers to "stick" around for a while.
If you can point to any specifics, or strategies, that you are aware of that the referenced firm might be planning to execute, let us know. Otherwise, it's anyone's guess as to where they stand, and where they might go.
Regards, Frank Coluccio |
