The 1st Edition Metro Ethernet ReportNew Paradigm Resources GroupFebruary 1, 2007 538 Pages - SKU: BHEQ1445468 |
| The concept of extending the Ethernet standard (IEEE 802.3) for frame-based computer
networking to the metro area has been around for decades. Service providers first began
seriously exploring Ethernet as a last-mile, Metro Area Network (MAN) service in the
1990s, with the first installations coming mid-decade. By 2000, new providers had
emerged with revolutionary business models based on “Metro Ethernet” technology.
Now, market conditions and provider innovations are coming together, and the market is
finally starting to mature. Based on extensive research of the service providers, vendors,
and end-users that make up the current Metro Ethernet market, we find that the market
should continue its fast growth over the next several years, as it begins to supplant TDM
as the preferred data transport platform, bit-by-bit.
As it has matured, with Ethernet now extending beyond the metro area and, indeed, nationally, the term “Metro Ethernet” no longer conveys the entire story. Many providers choose to characterize their services as “Carrier Ethernet”—in other words, “carriergrade Ethernet”—to illustrate that they reach not only to the metro area, but also to the wide area with inter-city Ethernet transport. The evolution of Metro Ethernet for access and transport can be gleaned just by looking at the service providers now competing in the segment. When we last examined the industry, in our GigE/MAN Report in 2001, the provider universe included fiber layers and about a dozen competitive providers, mostly companies whose business models were built solely on Gigabit Ethernet service. |
