XO Communications to Augment Capacity of Nationwide IP Network

XO Communications (News - Alert) has announced its plan to augment the capacity of its nationwide IP network in response to increasing growth of IP traffic on its network and demand for high-speed Internet access services from enterprises and wholesale customers.

The company is deploying Juniper Networks (News - Alert) MX960 Ethernet Services Routers in major metropolitan locations throughout the nation to deliver a three-fold increase in capacity across the edge of the XO IP network.

One of the largest-capacity Carrier Ethernet platforms available on the market today, the MX960 offers up to 960 gigabits per second of switching and routing capacity. The solution offers more revenue per platform and provides the scalability to support the growth of the XO network.

This platform will also be used to support a broad range of XO services that include High Speed IP Transit, IP-VPN and Voice over IP (VoIP) services for businesses, large enterprises and wholesale customers.

The additional capacity will specifically enable XO Communications to continue to meet customer demand for high speed IP transit services at speed of 1 GBPS and 10 Gbps.

"We're seeing increasing demand for high-speed IP transit solutions from both large enterprises and wholesale customers to support the growing bandwidth-intensive requirements of their networks and end users," said Randy Nicklas, chief technology officer at XO Communications, in a Wednesday statement.

"By continually investing in our network, XO can provide the most advanced network infrastructure to support our high-performance IP services, stay ahead of the demand from our customers for more bandwidth, and continue to pursue opportunities that will drive revenue growth on a cost-effective basis."

In the first half of 2008, IP traffic on the XO network grew by as almost 60 percent, driven by enterprise and wholesale customers’ bandwidth demands as well as the utilization of XO High Speed UP Transit services in support of the growing bandwidth consumption of their downstream customers from services such as video streaming, VoIP, gaming, eCommerce and online file sharing.

This announcement comes on the heels of a major capacity upgrade of XO’s core IP network infrastructure completed earlier this year. This expansion more than doubled the capacity of the company’s core nationwide IP network.

The XO High Speed Transit Service will provide cable companies, online content providers, enterprises and domestic and international telecommunications companies with fast, reliable Internet backbone access without the cost of building and managing a Tier 1 network.

The service provides DS3, OC3, OC12, OC48, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet Service Options; Full port or burstable billing options; Service level agreements; and direct connectivity to high valued content and access destinations on the Internet.

XO Communications is taking a strategic approach to responding the growing demand for increased bandwidth capacity and other high-performance IP services. By ensuring that customers have access to the platform and infrastructure they need before they need it, XO Communications is ensuring that it is protecting its base and driving long-term growth through sustainable solutions.