Metro Ethernet: The ultimate renewable resource - 1 of 2

Customers expect the light to come on with a simple flick of the switch, but for this to happen, utility companies must grapple with a complex of supply and demand variables: geopolitical events affect energy prices, rainfall affects water demand, temperature affects gas and electricity requirements, etc. And these days there is also the increasing competitive pressure of deregulation and new entrants into the utility market to deal with. Challenging times indeed but in recent years, a number of utility companies across our region have leveraged existing assets and expertise to create new revenue streams and expanded market shares that would be remarkable in any industry - the key to these successes is Metro Ethernet.

Metro Ethernet is a primarily fibre optic based network infrastructure that provides a stable and streamlined platform for an ever-expanding range of new revenue streams. Metro Ethernet is a very cost effective and high performance service - up to 1000 times faster than current broadband services - and it’s much in demand by both residential and business customers alike. This is due to the fact that older first generation 'broadband" services (such as cable and ADSL) are limited in delivering the next generation of advanced network applications: video on demand, flat rate 'unmet red" voice services, distance learning, video conferencing, multimedia ecommerce, video security services etc.

Utility companies who own rights of ways to multi-unit buildings have a special advantage in the Metro Ethernet market because access rights can greatly lower the cost of connecting to the customer premise. Most metropolitan areas have plenty of high-speed fibre optic cable running within core infrastructure - so the most serious costs are incurred extending this infrastructure to homes and businesses. This involves either pulling new fibre or using existing copper wire plants that run to metro tenants.

With the latest Ethernet switching technology, existing copper phone wire is a viable broadband access method but copper plants are often monopolised by incumbent telecoms providers. So in most cases, a new fibre optic cable is pulled to each building. If this new cable cannot be added to existing above-ground telephone/lighting poles or underground conduits and sewers, then a new access path must be created at great expense, usually via digging and construction work, the so called 'first mile" problem.

There are many ways the utility company right of ways can be used to facilitate Metro Ethernet projects. Most conduit or duct that connects a building to street services is suitable for fibre optic cabling, including gas lines, electricity cables, water mains, sewage pipes, and so on. Once a fibre optic cable is pulled from the street service point or adjacent service infrastructure into a building, it is attached to an Ethernet switch that can service all the tenants in the building. Tenants connect to the switch via cables that run in vertical risers or other cable pathways. In newer buildings, these vertical high-speed cables are already installed in many cases. In older buildings, it may be necessary to retrofit Ethernet cables into existing conduits, raceways, elevator shafts, ductworks, plumbing paths, telecoms risers, etc. Because Metro Ethernet adds value to buildings, property owners benefit greatly from the addition of Metro Ethernet support to existing building services and they are in many cases, willing to allow new cable installations.

If digging and major construction can be avoided, it means that Metro Ethernet economics are more viable and the likelihood for rapid ROI is more assured. The lower cost of customer access is a powerful advantage that utility companies can use to gain market share in the high growth market for broadband services. This market is gaining remarkable momentum across our region.

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