RCN Business lights 10G direct connections to Amazon Web Services, deepens cloud presence

RCN Business has begun offering 10G direct connections to Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ: AMZN), giving local business customers an alternative option to connect to a major cloud provider.

AWS Direct Connect customers can now link to AWS Direct Connect locations using RCN Business' network.

Customers can use RCN Business dedicated point-to-point fiber-based E-Line service, with speeds up to 10 Gbps to reach the AWS cloud.

Besides the choice of speeds, what's also interesting about this new service is that it bypasses the public Internet and is carried over a private connection between an AWS Direct Connect location and the customer's data center, office location or carrier hotel environment. All of the traffic is carried over RCN Business' fiber network and is separate from other businesses' data. 

By being able to secure a private connection a customer won't suffer speed degradation or be prone to security issues of a public connection. Having such capabilities makes RCN Business a potential threat to larger carriers and an option for business customers that would rather deal with a regional provider.

For RCN, providing direct connections to AWS comes at a time when the service provider has been expanding its fiber network organically and through partnerships with other service providers.

While it has not provided specific details yet, RCN Business told FierceTelecom in a previous interview that it will target other attractive sites, including a mix of traditional business buildings and data centers, where it could win new customers.  

To date, RCN Business has a 6,000-mile fiber network that it continues to expand. It is now seeking opportunities to potentially extend that fiber to address so-called near-net opportunities that exist near its fiber.

Fiber expansion is nothing new for RCN Business. In New York City, the service provider has extended fiber to various key business-related buildings and data centers, including the Empire State Building, 325 Hudson meet me room, and 450-460 Park Avenue in Manhattan.

Likewise in New Jersey, RCN Business established a relationship with dark fiber provider Cross River Fiber where both providers will be able to expand their network presence in New York and New Jersey.

By pursuing new near-net fiber opportunities, RCN Business could provide more direct connections for not only AWS cloud services, but potentially others like Microsoft Azure (NASDAQ: MSFT) in the future.  

For more:
- see the release

Related articles:
RCN Business plans to pursue new near-net fiber business opportunities in 2016
RCN Business broadens New Jersey data center reach via Cross River Fiber channel partnership
RCN Business extends fiber services to Telehouse's NYC data center
RCN, Cross River Fiber jointly expand fiber footprints in N.Y., N.J.
RCN Business jumps into the 100G Ethernet game