Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) says it has expanded the Comcast Business Class Solutions Provider Program with Metro Ethernet services. The company has added new partners, and says it now provides more ways for mid-sized businesses to access Ethernet services.
Comcast believes that as more mid-sized businesses operate bandwidth-intensive applications such as cloud computing, business continuity, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Ethernet services will continue to grow as organizations look to update the cost and performance of their wide area networks (WANs). Metro Ethernet offers a performance increase – and often at less cost – over legacy technologies such as T1 lines, Frame Relay, and ATM, asserts Comcast. Comcast says its Metro Ethernet service can scale in increments from 1 Mbps up to 10 Gbps with the flexibility of three different classes of service.
“The addition of our new solution provider partners with their own direct sales forces will be a key asset for bringing Metro Ethernet solutions to mid-sized businesses looking to increase productivity and lower costs through a high-performance network,” said Craig Schlagbaum, vice president of indirect channel sales at Comcast Business Services.
Announced at the Channel Partners Conference in Chicago, Comcast Business Services’ new Solutions Provider Partners include:
- Crystal Technologies
- Total Communications
- Interactive Telecom Solutions
- Telegration
- Simplify
- GCG
- Lightstream
- Bridgepointe
- CTG3
Comcast’s Metro Ethernet services will be a strong addition to our existing solutions and will help us meet customers’ increasing demand for greater bandwidth, flexibility and reliability as they move applications to cloud-based systems or SaaS environments,” said Edward O’Connor, vice president of network sales at Total Communications.
Comcast announced its Metro Ethernet offering in May 2011, which is delivered using its fiber-optic network. The network is company-owned and operated and is completely separate from traditional phone networks, Comcast says. Comcast states its Metro Ethernet services are certified by the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) to meet MEF 9, 14, and 18 requirements, which are industry standards for reliability and performance.
Comcast provides four Metro Ethernet Services, including:
- Ethernet Dedicated Internet Service – For bandwidth connectivity between the customers’ LAN and the public Internet.
- Ethernet Private Line Service – Point to point connectivity between two sites for bandwidth intensive applications. Supports customer VLANs or Ethernet control protocols.
- Ethernet Virtual Private Line Service – A point to multipoint connection that supports a multiplexed user network interface (UNI) to deliver multiple virtual connections.
- Ethernet Network Service – Multipoint to multipoint connectivity to connect organizations with high bandwidth requirements and many locations across a metropolitan area network (MAN).