Carrier Ethernet Exchange Service Grows

By Erin Monda, TMCnet Contributor

Carrier Ethernet Exchange Service Adds New CustomersEquinix recently announced that it has added 16 new customers to its Equinix (News - Alert) Carrier Ethernet Exchange, a global, network-neutral service designed to streamline quality and cost-effectiveness when it comes to commercial transactions between Layer 2 Ethernet networks.

The service has also now been extended to Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris.

According to Equinix officials, the Carrier Ethernet Exchange currently has 39 participants – including the addition of the 16 latest customers.  Among the newer customers are 2Connect, Allstream, FiberLight, Global Telecom & Technology, Glowpoint (News - Alert), Internet Solutions, IP Networks, Layer42, Megapath, Nimbus Exchange, PacNet, Peerless Network, SSE Telecom, Virtela, Voxel and XO.

“In addition to providing the speed, quality and cost advantages of Ethernet-based services, carriers can now offer our 3,700 customers the ability to easily transact business anywhere in the world,” said Jarrett Appleby, chief marketing officer at Equinix. “With the Equinix Carrier Ethernet Exchange and Marketplace, the costly and time-consuming effort of building one-off solutions no longer exists for the Ethernet services industry, which Ovum (News - Alert) expects to grow to $40 billion by 2015.”

Equinix, which is a provider of global data center services, also extended the service to three new European markets—Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris.

In addition, the company launched a new online portal, called “Marketplace for Equinix Carrier Ethernet Exchange,” which is designed to connect buyers and sellers of Ethernet-based services on a global level.

And what do the analysts think?

“Carrier-neutral providers such as Equinix, with data centers strategically located in high growth markets around the world, have a clear competitive advantage that enables a faster time-to-market when rolling out exchange services in new regions,” said Roopashree Honnachari, senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert). “The fact that Equinix already has service providers and enterprise customers colocated at its facilities means carriers have immediate and convenient access to a broad customer base.”

(source: http://4g-wirelessevolution.tmcnet.com/channels/carrier-ethernet/articles/112530-carrier-ethernet-exchange-service-grows.htm)