C&W turns to ART to speed wireless provisioning
By Denise Pappalardo
Network World Fusion, 02/21/01
Cable & Wireless is teaming with Advanced Radio
Telecom in an attempt to offer speedier service
delivery by taking incumbent local exchange carriers
out of the equation.
The ISP and ART have inked a 10-year deal worth
$11 million. Cable & Wireless will use ART's fixed
wireless network to provision its IP services to large
business users in markets around the U.S.
"The benefit is in the last mile," says Todd Haven, vice
president of commercial development at Cable &
Wireless. Data service providers are pushing capacity
limits on local exchange carrier networks, which result
in provisioning in delays, he says.
Cable & Wireless expects it will be able to provision
OC-3 (155M bit/sec) customers to its IP network in
a handful of days instead of one to three months.
"Service providers have to take a look at a broad
range of access technologies if they're serious about
serving customers," says Lisa Pierce, telecom director
at consulting firm Giga Information Group. "Cable &
Wireless has committed to doing more than just a trial
here."
Pierce points out that fixed wireless can't totally
bypass all local wireline infrastructure, but is an
alternative. When time-to-market is a critical factor,
fixed wireless is faster than dealing with LECs and
could cost less, she says, although providers aren't
eliminating a truck roll. Receivers still have to be
installed.
Cable & Wireless will use ART's 38-GHz wireless
network to support dedicated Internet access and
managed VPN service customers that need fast
access. Initially, Cable & Wireless will use the fixed
wireless option for customers that need connectivity at
155M bit/sec. But the ISP expects to offer lower and
higher speed options, Haven says.
"We've agreed to roll out the service in a few cities
right now," Haven says. The ISP needs to make sure
the network can support its existing service-level
agreements.
This is not an exclusive deal with ART, which allows
Cable & Wireless to team with other providers for
greater coverage in the future. But it's not surprising
that the ISP is teaming ART as its first fixed wireless
partner. Former Cable & Wireless CEO Wharton
Rivers is CEO at ART.
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