Demand for on-net IP VPN and Ethernet services worldwide is growing rapidly, a new report from TeleGeography reveals--but coverage and growth rates vary widely among regions.

Responding to the great demand to have secured and reliable access to shared applications and platforms, carriers are expanding their on-net IP VPN and Ethernet service footprints, adding infrastructure in developed markets, and extending their networks into emerging markets.

Overall, with a total of 166 cities covered in TeleGeography’s (News - Alert) research, on-net availability of IP VPN services grew 12 percent in 2012. Africa saw a huge growth with carriers’ on-net coverage soaring to 52 percent. Asia, Europe, and North America saw on-net coverage growth rates between 10 and 15 percent, while Latin America experienced marginal growth in on-net VPN coverage.

Although on-net VPN coverage grew rapidly in Africa, availability remains quite limited, at just over five percent, cited the research report.

“On-net IP VPN and EoMPLS coverage in emerging markets remains limited, due in significant part to the relatively higher costs and lower levels of demand for such services,” TeleGeography analyst Robert Schult (News - Alert) noted. “However, as new network builds drive down transport costs to emerging markets in Africa and Latin America, it will become even more cost-effective for carriers to establish their own PoPs and to deliver service directly to enterprise customers,” added Schult.

TeleGeography’s research also indicated that carriers’ aggregate on-net EoMPLS coverage grew 11 percent in 2012. EoMPLS coverage expanded most rapidly in Africa, growing 25 percent, while growth in Asia, Europe, and North America grew between 10 and 12 percent. Although Africa's on-net IP VPN and Ethernet services grew rapidly, the availability is only comparable to that of Latin America, says the report.

As the growth of companies that provide Ethernet extension solutions such as Patton are demonstrating, the rush to make networks globally all-IP is picking up steam and increasingly Ethernet is the preferred choice for doing so.

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