Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) may have not been initially known as a major threat to telcos targeting medium-sized businesses, but the ongoing build out of its primary rate interface (PRI) trunk replacement shows that telcos and CLECs should take the MSO as a potential growing threat.
Although the majority of its business revenues continue to come from SMB customers, Comcast has rolled out its PRI services to 85 percent of its service footprint since launching the service in Q3 with hopes of moving into larger business accounts.
To deliver the service, Comcast did not have to look too far beyond its own network. Leveraging its already well-built HFC-based network, the MSO has been bundling its Business Class Trunks with its 100 Mbps DOCSIS 3.0-based data service.
Similar to a traditional T1-based trunking service, Comcast Business Trunks provide the business customer a connection between their telephone system, PBX and the Comcast network.
It appears that Comcast is using flexibility and price to lure medium businesses to the new services. For $599 a month, businesses can get 100 Mbps downstream Internet speeds with voice support from low as 6 up to 23 simultaneous useable phone lines.
But Comcast's ambitions extend far beyond delivering PRI service. While it offered no specific timeline, the MSO is leveraging the assets it purchased from New Global Telecom to conduct a hosted PBX trial in Boston and Western New England and also plans to build out facilities to support Metro Ethernet services.
For more:
- CED has this article
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