Streamyx

Ethernet is a fairly new type of broadband usually confined to a particular building or dense metro area. Although ethernet technology has been in use since the 1970s within local area networks, it only recently has been in use as a wide area network transmission medium as well.

Ethernet for broadband can be delivered over fiber optic cables installed throughout an entire building (also known as "lit" or "on-net") which can substantially reduce normal provisioning time for clients residing in that building. But the main advantage is that ethernet over fiber can be run at native speeds of 10, 100, or 1000 Mbps (also known as Gig E), which is a major leap forward compared to traditional forms of accessing bandwidth.

In the past, ethernet was just a protocol used to transport the "data", so limitations of the underlying transport mechanism applied. For example Ethernet-over-T1 (via copper) operated at a maximum data rate of 1.544 Mbps, and Ethernet-over-DS3 operated at a max of 45 Mbps. Now because of the fact that new equipment specially made for extending ethernet's range have entered the market, limitations have been significantly reduced or eliminated altogether. It's now possible to augment and lengthen the bandwidth of a fiber lit building by using ordinary copper wires, via a new concept termed as Ethernet-over-Copper (EoC) or Ethernet-over-Serial/DS1 (EoS). This is speculated to revolutionize the industry if/when it becomes widely supported by the fiber carrying telcos. Ethernet provides significant cost savings over SONET, ATM, or Frame Relay circuits, and is the best technology for support of IP applications.

Over time, Metro Ethernet will overwhelm SONET in the MAN/WAN market. Ethernet is cheaper, has better economies of scale and allows for simpler, more unified networks. Ethernet is at the gates, and it's coming in. The market for managed Metro Ethernet services is expected to grow by 30 per cent a year until 2010, when it will top $25 billion worldwide.

Shaun Sullivan
Telecommunications Broker/Consultant
Ph: (512) 342-2173
TF: (877) 993-2804
info@bandwidthseek.net
http://www.bandwidthseek.net