Ethernet Exchange Has a Long Way to Go: Telx CEO

Following the announcement today that data center service provider Equinix and Alcatel-Lucent will develop a program to define enhanced solutions for the exchange of data traffic between carriers providing Ethernet services, I sat down with Eric Shepcaro (News - Alert), CEO of colocation provider Telx, and he shared his insight into how Ethernet exchange will play out over the next 12 months and how it will affect the industry as a whole.

 

Traditionally, Ethernet services have been limited to the geographic areas in which a carrier’s network is deployed, but there is a significant customer demand for universal Ethernet services. However, industry experts have noted that carriers have been limited in offering a seamless service outside of their service area due to the complex and time consuming challenges of establishing multiple, separate interconnection agreements with other carriers.

 

“If you look at the market, and look at the growth of Ethernet and the number of cross connects, they are clearly based on the flexibility of the Ethernet, the knowledge customers have and now the way carriers want to leverage Ethernet. There’s a whole set of business requirements that have to be in place first,” Shepcaro said, adding that a provisioning process to establish connectivity needs to be in place.

 

With customers demanding more pervasive Ethernet functionality, Shepcaro said Ethernet exchange will follow as a natural evolution of what is currently available.

 

“I think it’s a natural extension of what we do today – we have cross-connects in every flavor and that is part of what Telx is so proud of. We can do cross connects in less than 24 hours and immediately can provide inventory status.” At the heart of the Telx Colocation Centers are "Meet Me Areas: that contain passive interconnection panels to support circuit interconnections of every physical media type; it’s by Telx putting a simple cross connect in-place that enables customers to buy, sell or exchange traffic.

 

“For folks that need to extend their reach, the right data center gives them a very cost effective way to expand and meet those requirements and that’s really what we’ve built and what we’re continuing to build and are able to support,” Shepcaro said.

 

Although he believes the Equinix (News - Alert) announcement to be somewhat premature in terms of actual delivery, Shepcaro said that once Ethernet exchange does come to fruition, it will enable Telx to continue on its path of growth and enhanced customer service. According to Shepcaro, Telx has grown 40 percent year over year, and “the Ethernet exchange will help continue the acceleration of our growth.”

 

The Equinix solution is expected to focus on developing a platform for multi-provider carrier Ethernet interconnection that meets Metro Ethernet Forum (News - Alert) standards. Equinix officials said that it will review a variety of solutions, including Ethernet network-to-network interconnection and additional services that leverage the density and breadth of networks operating within Equinix’s centers.

 

Carriers have been limited in offering a seamless service outside of their service area due to the complex and time-consuming challenges of establishing multiple, separate interconnection agreements with other carriers.

 

“A customer today, if they want to get out of a territory, if they want to do Ethernet connection, we can do that through a physical cross connect, on a TIE platform, so there are definitely ways already that customers can extend their footprint that are more simplified and elegant,” Shepcaro said, adding that new applications, video and cloud services are driving the need for expanded services, and ultimately, contributing to a strong period of development for the New York City-based company.

 

With the growth of the communications industry, particularly with new bandwidth intensive services and applications, and an increased need for security, one of the industries that has seen significant growth is the colocation market, which offers the ability for businesses toconnect to one another to exchange traffic, information and content.

 

Shepcaro said Telx has more networks in its facilities across its footprint than others in the colocation space, allowing its customers the broadest opportunities to connect to a vast number of carriers, enterprises and content providers.

 

“We’re already growing so rapidly. Ethernet exchange, once it comes to fruition, will continue the accelerated growth that we’re seeing,” Shepcaro said.