te[l.sup.X] introduces two interconnection services

Telecommunications Americas, June, 2004 by Jim Barthold

Always seeking ways to expand its customer base of international service providers and network carriers--and, of course, looking for ways to keep existing customers happy--te[l.sup.X], which calls itself New York's first and largest core interconnection facility, used a recent Customer Business Exchange gathering at its New York City headquarters to outline two new technologies that should advance both objectives and make it easier for companies to deal with each other and with te[l.sup.X].

First, the company unveiled the Brilliant Platform, an integrated switching, grooming, transport and restoration service developed by Turin Networks for te[l.sup.X]'s interconnection hubs. The platform, which is being used at te[l.sup.X]'s New York City and recently purchased Marietta, Ga. facilities, will also be placed in Los Angeles, said Hunter Newby, te[l.sup.X]'s chief strategy officer. It lets te[l.sup.X] customers mix and match transport protocols--in particular international--to U.S.-based transport--through a single device that does the switching. This obviates the need for carriers to purchase and deploy their own interconnect switches at te[l.sup.X] facilities.

The platform is the "next logical step of networking," Newby said, adding that it is a "very in-demand service" among the interconnection provider's international customers.

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It is especially important as more international carriers move traffic into and out of the United States, said Kevin Wade, Turin's director of product marketing. European customers, he said, are using forms of ITU-T transport while American networks are based on ANSI. "A device needs to provide that protocol conversion and our product does that in the te[l.sup.X] facility," he explained.

Among the first customers for the new interconnection capability is Tyco Telecommunications, said Newby, adding that inbound carrier traffic enters the Brilliant Platform, is cross-connected and sent out on the Tyco network. Incoming carriers pay for the switching, as needed, for Tyco and other carriers that might be in the platform. "It's a virtual process. They get their cross-connects in this box," Newby said. "Everyone obviously wants to deal with somebody who's in the box."

Carriers pay to have their protocols translated within the device and that's cheaper than building interconnects for every service provider, Newby emphasized. "The purpose of it is not for us to get into the transport business. The purpose of it is for the people who are going to need the interconnect to get into the box," Newby said. "We're just doing this to sort out the interconnect issues."

The purpose is also to make things easier and more convenient for te[l.sup.X] when networks enter their interconnection facilities, said Michael Terlizzi, who, as director of operations, oversees the Brilliant Platform.

"We can do switching right in the box," he explained. "It's a more efficient way of doing business."

In a related announcement, te[l.sup.X] said it was developing an online networking and RFP (request for proposals) engine for its customers. Carriers who are te[l.sup.X] customers are invited to enter and maintain services profiles in the site that can be accessed by other customers interested in interconnecting, Newby said.

"Buyers select preferred carriers and instantly send RFPs to decision makers of the respective companies," he explained. "It facilitates business for all our clients."