Verizon expands Ethernet presence through CENX

Verizon Partner Solutions is arguably one of the largest wholesale providers of Ethernet services, but by becoming a partner with neutral carrier Ethernet exchange CENX's network they think they can attract even more customers in their flagship New York market.  

One issue that has prevented customers from purchasing more wholesale was a concern of having to directly connect to Verizon. Now, they have the ability to indirectly get Ethernet services from Verizon through a neutral source, something that Larry O'Neill, Ethernet product development manager for Verizon Partner Solutions thinks customers will embrace.

"What the niche for Verizon is today is we have our switched Ethernet service, but for a customer to take advantage of that they have to make that first purchase of an entrance facility UNI between their POP and the Verizon network," said O'Neill. "For many tier 2-3 and even tier 1 customers that becomes a barrier to entry when they are looking at the first sale being an individual location or two locations it's not convincing enough to make a direct connection with Verizon at 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps. Those customers might feel more comfortable if they are part of the exchange and working through CENX we would become an option for them through that vehicle."   

But with the CENX arrangement, a service provider customer could configure their network connection to CENX on their own terms. From there, CENX takes care of necessary translations and interoperability between Verizon and its carrier customers as services are turned up and thus eliminates the need for time consuming service engineering. What's more, CENX's member carriers can use the Market real-time portal to confirm the details of Verizon service offerings.

"What CENX provides is a low barrier to entry where they can not only do business with Verizon, but they can use the same physical connection to do business with other service providers through CENX," said Nan Chen, president and CEO of CENX.

O'Neill admitted that just as he was getting to know CENX, potential customers began asking what it thought of the company and the value of a neutral Ethernet exchange.

"When CENX reached out to Verizon six months ago, we actually got a call from two different carriers asking about the Ethernet exchange," O'Neill said. "At the time I said I have some slideware on it, but now by formalizing this agreement we can now go back to them in earnest. There is some pent up demand and we're hoping leverage this partnership to gain that as revenue for both companies."

Obviously, announcing a relationship with a tier one carrier such as Verizon is a big win for CENX which formally debuted [1] in November.  

For more:
- see the release here [2]

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CENX: Simplifying the interconnection process - Global Ethernet Report [1]
CENX, Equinix launch global Ethernet exchange services [3]
Verizon Business: Global Ethernet is our goal - Global Ethernet Report [4]
Ethernet NNI-keeping services consistent! [5]