Pipeline Publishing, Volume 7, Issue 7

	This Month's Issue:
	Carrier Ethernet Emerges

Letter from the Editor: December, Carrier Ethernet

By Tim Young

“It’s strange but it's true, I can't get over the way you love me like you do. But I have to be sure, when I walk out that door. Oh, how I want to be free, baby. Oh how I want to be free. Oh how I want to break free.” -Queen, “I Want to Break Free”.

Ethernet knows what Freddie Mercury was talking about here. After serving as a faithful and predictable LAN technology for a nice long spell, Ethernet has spent the last decade or so gradually emerging from its shell and going out on the town.

And why not? Carrier Ethernet (Or Metro Ethernet. They mean the same thing these days, for the purposes of most) has distinct advantages. It’s a known quantity that network providers are well acquainted with on the LAN side. It’s inexpensive, compared to most WAN technologies, and it’s a lot more scalable than many realize.

The question is where Carrier Ethernet fits into your standard communications service provider’s business plan. What are its advantages? What are its drawbacks? How can CSPs leverage Carrier Ethernet to fit where it makes sense, and how can they understand when it simply doesn’t. What are the success stories out there?

These are some of the questions Pipeline hopes to explore in this issue.

The question is where Carrier Ethernet fits into your standard communications service provider’s business plan.

Herein, I speak to Chris Rabii, SVP of technical operations for Optimum Lightpath, the Cablevision subsidiary that is utilizing CE to continue its market-share grab in the New York Tri-State area.

Analysts Craig Clausen and Ed Gubbins of NPRG, remind us that right-sizing of networks is of paramount importance, and that Ethernet over copper is a good tool for that. And, we provide perspective from vendors and service providers with direct experience in the space, including JDSU’s Reza Vaez-Ghaemi.

Since this is the last Pipeline issue of 2010, we take the opportunity to glance back at some of the stories that impacted the telecom space in the last 12 months. We also look at one of the OSS/BSS trends that will influence the market in 2011: smart grid tech.

We’re pleased to bring you all that, plus the latest in news and information from your OSS/BSS information source.

Enjoy,

Tim Young, Editor-in-Chief

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