AT&T (NYSE: T) is enhancing its Ethernet reach with a new feature that leverages the capabilities of its existing U-verse broadband technology.
Set to enhance the delivery process particularly for small business and wholesale customers, the Ethernet feature includes a new Ethernet Qualification Tool (EQT) that determines if they are eligible.
The service provider said that the new Ethernet capability will support a number of network topologies -- basic site-to-site connections up to meshed any-to-any configuration. Customers also have the option of using virtual local area networks (VLANs) to control data flows between their sites.
AT&T's new Ethernet capability will support almost any network topology -- from basic site-to-site connections to a fully meshed any-to-any configuration. It also supports VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) so that customers can control how their data flows between sites.
In addition, AT&T claims that the new feature can enhance service activation time to generally 10 days or less. It also provides customers a set of competitive price points, the choice of symmetrical and asymmetrical speeds, and more control.
As one of its fastest growing business services, having a new feature to understand whether a building is eligible for Ethernet makes sense for AT&T.
Between 2013 and 2014, the telco reported that Switched Ethernet ports grew 1,300 percent, and that demand is "continuing to grow."
Evidence of Ethernet growth was seen in its second-quarter earnings results. AT&T reported that strategic business services revenues, including MPLS and Ethernet, rose 13 percent to $2.7 billion and now make up one-third of total wireline business revenues. One of the foundational growth driers for its wireline business growth was its fiber to the building (FTTB) buildout, which provides 300 Mbps to 1 Gbps Internet service to businesses in over 180 U.S. cities.
For more:
- see the release
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