8/1/98 America's Network. [NetworkTwo choice of 3Com Total Control]
americasnetwork.com
Old dog, new tricks--no problem
Rolling with the industry's dramatic changes, NetworkTwo hasn't let
technology, or history, get the better of it.
David Kopf
It's easy to play the tricky game of Internet protocol (IP) networking
services when you've been around long enough to see the rules evolve. That's
the story for NetworkTwo Communications Group Inc. (Ann Arbor, Mich.), a
service provider that has seen a lot in its 27 years. From once offering
time-sharing to now managing virtual private network (VPN) services, the
company has definitely been around.
NetworkTwo, originally founded in 1972 at Cyphernetics, was acquired by
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) in 1975, and was renamed ADP
Network Services. As the ADP Network Services unit, it ran ADP's
networking and data communications. Also, at one time, ADP had about 1,200
employees selling global time-sharing services on the network, but eventually
the time-sharing market disintegrated and the unit eventually focused on its
original charge of running ADP's network.
In 1983, deregulation let ADP AutoNet, as it was then called, sell
teleprocessing services. At the time of AT&T's divestiture, ADP entered the
market of providing communications services. In 1994, when the World Wide
Web and business Internet use started to skyrocket, ADP Autonet began
offering Internet access services.
In more recent developments, 1997 saw Weston Information Technologies
acquire ADP AutoNet and rename it NetworkTwo, and expand its network
and services, focusing on Internet protocol (IP)-the protocol of choice for
most business customer applications. Continuing on that path, in 1998
NetworkTwo agreed with Infinet (Norfolk, Va.) to take over management of
their network and 90 points of presence (POPs), which will provide
NetworkTwo with about 90% local-dial access coverage in North America.
AN interviewed Al Dei Maggi (right),
NetworkTwo's president and COO, and
Tom Saleh (left), CEO, to talk about
where technology, the industry and
innovation might next take their company.
Currently, NetworkTwo offers VPNs,
extranets and intranets to businesses, as
well as network and dial-up services for
Internet service providers (ISPs). NetworkTwo's next step will focus on
providing voice over IP (VOIP).
Dei Maggi: The company continues developing external customers and
growing its native businesses, based on IP-managed networks and X.25 and
other legacy networking protocols that customers were using-customers like
Union Bank, Dow Jones, Track Data, General Medical, as well as smaller
companies.
Our belief is that there is a convergence of data networking and voice
networking. We believe our positioning is to be a network operator for
corporations and for network-based businesses that want to deploy cell and
frame technologies-from ATM [asynchronous transfer mode] to Frame to
IP-in a managed network setting.
Saleh: Our intention and what we're doing is to be focused on being a
provider of the highest quality, cost-effective network services in the industry.
Our customers focus on either content or managing their businesses.
-How do you throw voice into the pot? Are you looking at technologies
such as VOIP or voice over frame?
Dei Maggi: The first thing we did in taking the network over [when Weston
acquired AutoNet] was to begin upgrading our network. Every one of our
POPs is going to have a carrier-class IP framework. We've chosen the 3Com
[3Com Corp.; Santa Clara, Calif.] Total Control environment, which allows us
to install in a carrier-class frame work an intelligent edge device that will handle
56K as well as ISDN [integrated services digital network] per modem slot,
and has ADSL [asymmetrical digital subscriber line] capability. So we've
installed an intelligent, flexible edge that has programmable DSPs [digital signal
processors] that allow us to use those DSPs for modem codecs as well as
running voice over IP. ... With an intelligent programmable edge and an ATM
backbone we're building out. And we're adding Internet telephony gateways
beyond the Total Control passages in a pilot that we're building for a
communications company.
-And those gateways, do you see them targeted toward business users
for providing turnkey network services, or are you also considering
smaller users as well?
Saleh: Corporate customers are very interested in on-'Net-voice. They may
represent the first use of a packetized telephony service, but in order for it to
be cost-effective it has to be on a much larger scale than our corporate
customers would use. So we do see providing services to the general public
through these gateways.
The gateways are phone-to-phone capable. If they're capable of doing that,
they could obviously do PC-to-phone or PC-to-PC.
Dei Maggi: We are a network that will outsource networks for corporate
customers for their internal use, their intranet data and voice networks, as well
as network-based businesses. That's where it really becomes important to
understand how we expect to address consumers.
-So you could be a carrier's carrier?
Dei Maggi: We would expect people offering phone card services-maybe
someone with a fax-by-credit-card service-that could run on our network.
-How do you see that business playing out? Do you see the most
realistic step as providing enterprises services?
Dei Maggi: I think the early adopters are people with minutes of traffic they
want to move at a much lower cost, where they can live with some of the early
adopter issues that are going to be associated with this marketplace. You have
a number of enterprises that are interested in both voice over frame and voice
over IP. I think it's going to be bang for the buck in the initial installation.
-And most of that will fall on international?
Dei Maggi: We're seeing a lot of international opportunity. It's probably
because of our strategy. We have a national dial network. We can egress calls
throughout North America. Anybody with voice over IP minutes, from outside
of the state, looks at us as an ideal partner for moving those minutes into local
markets.
-How do you think the U.S. regulatory climate will develop in regards
to VOIP? Do you think VOIP providers are going to have to pay the
same fees that as access telcos?
Saleh: I can summarize what experts are telling us. The FCC has
acknowledged that IP-originated traffic would be exempt from access and
other tariffs for four to five years.
Dei Maggi: We know there's pressure on that, and there's been recent press
on making that happen sooner, rather than later, but we really believe that it's a
four- to five-year time frame until we have to deal with it.
-And knowing that, how are you planning to deal with it?
Saleh: The reality of it is that what we have to do is build a competitive
infrastructure. We really do believe that the infrastructure that we're putting in
place will provide long distance minutes at a rate that is competitive with the
traditional circuit-switched network.
Dei Maggi: That's why we believe that ultimately the corporate customer is
going to be the bread-and-butter customer for us. Their fundamental problem
today is managing two separate networks in their business. We think that
ultimately, the cost benefits are going to be based on servicing a single network
within our corporate customer community, and even though the initial minutes
and benefits may come from distance services, we believe the corporate
customer, with an IP infrastructure competitive to circuit switching, will
ultimately pay the bills.
-So you think given the nature of that market, you don't have much to
worry about if the regulatory climate changes?
Saleh: Exactly. We're following demand for services which simply can't be
delivered over the old, circuit-switched voice network. Whether it's large
corporations or down to the SOHO [small office home office] market, and
eventually down to consumer levels, those services are really going to drive the
implementation of newer technology.
Dei Maggi: Like Internet call centers, for example. The ability to combine an
e-commerce catalog with voice just can't be served efficiently through circuit
switched technology. The more important the integration of Internet and
intranet services becomes the more inextricable those two technologies will be
and voice over IP will drive that.
-Do you think that you're going to have to wait on the access
technology side for that landscape to finally appear?
Saleh: Not really. The technologies for things like DSL or cable modems are
already there. What's going to happen is demand for bandwidth will force the
LECs [local exchange carriers] and the other access- right-of-way owners to
open up their infrastructures. But, even at ISDN or 56 kilobit speeds we can
do a lot.
In the corporate world, corporations can afford dedicated access, especially if
it integrates voice data and other applications on a single network.
Dei Maggi: As enterprises begin to understand that they can develop a
common infrastructure for their own use and actually settle with other
communications carriers they will see the benefit of that and move in that
direction and we'd like to be a vehicle to help them.
-So, if you had to judge it performance wise, would you say VOIP is
going to be a more solid offering? Or is it frame? Or is it improper to pit
the two against one another?
Saleh: I think that's more the case. Frame relay was never really intended to
carry communications that were sensitive to either delays or losses in data. By
its design, it will throw away frames. There's different trade offs in the IP
world; the delay is longer and less predictable, but the data loss is less. Our
intention is to engineer the backbone of the network so that once the traffic
arrives the delays in the backbone (if it is voice or a delay-sensitive call) will be
very short.
The question of whether you're using voice over IP, or voice over frame or
voice over ATM might take a more detailed description of the way we're
engineering our network. If the access on the customer premise happens to be
frame relay then putting a gateway that knows how to use frame relay as a
transport vehicle is not much different than putting in the same gateway that's
using IP as its transport. And that same gateway is connected directly into our
ATM switching fabric.
August 1, table of contents
Copyright 1998 Advanstar Communications. Please send any technical comments or
questions to the America's Network webmaster.
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