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Carrier Services
BT plays catch up with Etherflow
UK carrier moves up to IP/MPLS Ethernet VPNs
by Doug Allen
British Telecom (BT) is hoping to catch up to its major competitors with its new Etherflow service, targeting UK business customers. Running from 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps, the service is a private line offering that transports native Ethernet over IP/MPLS based on the carrier’s 21 Century Network initiative. It’s a major step up from the carrier’s legacy Layer 2 Ethernet ATM-based services, and a good first step towards modernizing BT’s Ethernet portfolio, which has lagged behind competitors Layer 2 end-to-end offerings in terms of features, performance and flexibility. Specifically, Etherflow’s value-adds include granular bandwidth scalability, Layer 2 VPN support, faster service provisioning and last mile access over copper and fiber.
The service is available to any endpoints that can connect to 106 core and access nodes surrounding all the major business markets throughout the UK, or 86 percent of the potential market. That number is set to go up to 600 access nodes nationally by March 2009, and 1,000 access nodes, with an international push set for the end of 2009. With infrastructure throughout the country, BT can manage and control nearly all on-net Ethernet WAN traffic end-to-end, offering carrier-grade SLA metrics, effective troubleshooting and resiliency. As stipulated under its 21 Century Network architecture, BT ensures redundancy by deploying two separate national MPLS backbones, one based on Cisco gear and the other running Juniper equipment.
“BT’s holistic message of offering a hybrid solution to large customers is appealing and also tough for rivals to match in terms of a one-stop shop for L2 Ethernet, Ethernet access, and L3 IP VPN,” writes Sandra O’Boyle, Research Director with Current Analysis. “BT has strong capabilities in the area of enterprise-class hybrid data WAN services, leveraging a combination of L2 Ethernet and L3 IP VPN know-how and infrastructure, to offer customers the best opportunities for a one-stop shop and a fully complementary suite of managed network services and IT know-how and experience.”
However, BT has a ways to go before Etherflow reaches its potential. The service does not offer multiple Class of Service at Layer 2 (though it is available at the IP layer). Multipoint-to-multipoint connectivity, better known as E-LAN service (see Exponential-e: Another name for next-gen Ethernet services?), is still on the drawing board, with no set launch date. The MEF has yet to certify BT’s carrier Ethernet portfolio with either MEF 9 and 14-approved status, signifying industry-level performance metrics and conformity with standard Ethernet service definitions, unlike regional competitors COLT and ntl: Telewest Business. And Etherflow does not provide any client-side online monitoring of performance metrics, leaving users unable to fully track their SLA, although the carrier does offer a portal for quotes, orders, order tracking and trouble tickets.
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