Time Warner Cable Business Class (TWCBC) (NYSE: TWC) may be the latest service provider to gain the Metro Ethernet Forum's Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certification for its wholesale E-Access services, but what's different is it has earned it for all eight service configurations.
This follows the certification it received for the retail service types: E-Line (EPL/EVPL), E-LAN (EP-LAN/EVP-LAN) and E-Tree (EP-Tree/EVP-Tree).
The certification could provide it with another differentiation point for the cable MSO as it looks to win over larger business customers.
"We are committed to being the number one choice for commercial services and this recognition is part of our continuing effort to move up market and provide targeted solutions for mid-market and enterprise organizations, as well as for carrier partners by delivering wholesale service," said Phil Meeks, executive vice president and COO, Time Warner Cable Business Services, in a release.
Out of the top cable MSOs that offer Ethernet service, TWCBC's network reach is quite vast.
Like fellow cable operators Cox and Comcast, TWCBC has aggressively built its own fiber network.
Today, it has a 147,000-fiber-route-mile network infrastructure that currently serves 30 major metro markets nationwide with more than 58,000 fiber-lit buildings. Over this network it offers a range of wholesale E- Access speeds from 5 Mbps to 10 Gbps. Complementing its own network are 75 External Network-to-Network Interface (ENNI) locations.
Having their own network is enabling TWCBC and other cable operators to be a more effective competitive threat to both incumbent telcos and CLECs.
"Because they own the fiber-based infrastructure vs. buying that access from other carriers they can be more aggressive on pricing and get circuits installed more quickly," said Rosemary Cochran, principal of Vertical Systems Group, in a previous interview with FierceTelecom.
The service provider's effort in the Ethernet market has enabled it to maintain a spot as one of the three cable operators on Vertical System Group's Leaderboard, where it currently holds the No. 5 spot.
For more:
- see the release
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