Lessons from the little guys: greenfield carriers provide unique, differentiated services at competitive prices by using more efficient technologies

Telecommunications Americas, June, 2003 by Roz Roseboro

Service providers aren't taking full advantage of new technologies in their quest to offer innovative and profitable services. While larger providers must consider legacy networks and operations, they can still benefit by adopting some strategies of smaller, greenfield providers.

Building a network from scratch is not a luxury for incumbents, and integration challenges are hardly trivial, but larger carriers in many cases can replicate how smaller ones use new technologies and business models.

Three greenfield carriers--Cybera, Masergy and Neos--provide unique, differentiated services at competitive prices by using more efficient technologies such as Ethernet and MPLS (multiprotocol label services). They focus their service portfolios, stick to their strengths, and partner to offer other services.

Cybera

Network Architecture

Cybera uses CoSine switches to support its network-based services and the Cisco 8500 to aggregate private-line, frame relay and ATM lines. Traffic is placed into an ATM PVC, which terminates on a CoSine switch. It leverages the virtual router capabilities of the CoSine platform, so it can support multiple customer VPNs from a single box.

Service Offerings

Cybera offers data services focused on IP VPNs. Its four key products are:

* SmartOffice to connect multiple business locations;

* SmartRemote for broadband connectivity to remote workers;

* SmartDial for dial-up connectivity for a remote or mobile worker;

* Smart VPN for secure connectivity between locations that already have Internet access.

Managed firewalls and messaging services are also available but generally provided by one of Cybera's partners. Voice services (not Cybera branded) may be delivered through a partner, but some customers opt to run VoIP over their Cybera private networks.

Keys to Success

Cybera claims it can offer a fully managed, turnkey, network-based, private-networking solution for ~$100 per site, which is dramatically less than frame relay. In addition, Cybera focuses mainly on replacing existing dedicated dial-up with private broadband networking. Because Cybera does not have a broadband or backbone network, it need not be concerned with keeping traffic on-net. It partners with software and application providers that sell into targeted vertical markets then position Cybera as the provider of the underlying infrastructure that will optimize software performance.

Masergy

Network Architecture

Masergy is a facilities-based carrier that uses RBOCs for the local loop, although in some areas it uses others' facilities to expand its network reach. MPLS is the key enabling technology. The company's greenfield network uses Juniper routers in the core and Extreme and Tasman/Tiara products at the edge.

Masergy says its network-based approach makes new services easy to integrate and immediately available. It also dramatically reduces cost, because the customer need not touch all the endpoints to enable a new service.

Service Offerings

Masergy offers voice, video and data services across its IP/MPLS network. Its key products are:

* inControl IP, a data service that provides prioritized traffic flows from site to site;

* inControl Link, a point-to-point (Layer 2) service that provides a reserved level of bandwidth similar to a frame relay CIR (committed information rate) level;

* inControl Private IP, an any-to-any private service with the security of a point-to-point connection;

* inControl Video, a service specifically engineered to carry TV-quality videoconferencing;

* inControl Voice, a service that provides a dedicated long-distance replacement using a voice VPN.

Keys to Success

Masergy gives customers the tools to manage their communications services. Its Service Control Center allows customers to make changes to their service via a Web interface. Customers can upgrade bandwidth on demand, and the information flows to all necessary network elements. Customers can mark traffic from a given location to be "dedicated video" or "shared." Video traffic gets higher QoS and guaranteed priority (using DiffServ and ToS (type of service) bits)--and of course costs more. Marking all traffic between two sites as "dedicated video"--even if not all of it is video- reduces the amount of policy definition for the customer.

Masergy's Policy Manager controls configurations on the CPE. Traffic can be marked by application before it hits the network. The customer indicates what priority traffic should get and what size the pipe should be. If an application not listed, the customer can ad it.

Neos

Network Architecture

Neos' optical network is based on a Nortel OPTera platform for long-haul DWDM transmission and uses Riverstone RS 3000/8000/38000 Ethernet Layer 2 MPLS switches. MPLS Layer 2 VPN is the key enabling technology for Neos' Ethernet VPN service. Long-haul GigE cards in the DWDM platform are also important. Because it operates Ethernet over DWDM, as opposed to Ethernet over IP/ATM and SDH, Neos believes it holds a huge cost advantage over its competitors.

Service Offerings