Dedicated to Private Networks AboveNet adds the Tellabs®

7100 Nano™ System to deliver

dedicated wavelength services to enterprises. By Joan Engebretson

Staying in Control Most AboveNet customers are doing data replication in and among these data centers. So they’re looking for a private fiber solution on diverse paths to provide connectivity to those centers and in between them. Because AboveNet has its own fiber, it bypasses

traditional telco COs and tandem switches. This design minimizes latency and security risks, and it helps avoid the kinds of equipment problems that come with CLEC- or ILEC-provided connectivity. “They would be more exposed to maintenance

activities that have nothing to do with their service but could knock them out or affect their service,” Germani said.

AboveNet has built a business around providing large enterprises in Europe and the U.S. with customized, private DWDM solutions. The fiber-rich company builds dedicated networks for each customer, offering each enterprise its own fiber pair, as well as dedicated transmission equipment. “We’re focused on the optical space,” said Angelo Germani,

vice president of sales engineering for the White Plains, N.Y.-based operator. “We’re talking 100 Mbps bandwidth or higher. Our core service is using DWDM to provision customers with a custom network to meet any need, from storage area networking to local loop bypass to IP telephony.” AboveNet recently added the Tellabs® Optical Transport System

7100 Nano™

to its portfolio because its design is well- suited to its business model. The Tellabs 7100 Nano system provides a flexible, multiservice system with ROADM capability in a small chassis. “AboveNet’s customers include

many large, global enterprises with sophisticated, mission- critical communications requirements,” said Mary Beth Nance, executive director of business development for AboveNet. “Our customers look for high bandwidth, low latency and

diverse paths,” Nance said. “We purpose-build out backbone in and among key data centers on diverse cable routes. We believe data centers such as those operated by Equinix, Savvis, Telx and Internap are the next-generation COs.”

A Fiber Pair for Every Customer When AboveNet initially constructs a fiber route,

it generally installs 864-count fiber so it has enough infrastructure to dedicate a fiber pair to each customer. This design gives the customer a high level of control over its network and provides the flexibility needed to meet increased bandwidth demands. Customers can easily scale their service from 100 Mbps to

1 Gbps and higher because fiber and DWDM are upgradeable virtually infinitely. That scalability also positions AboveNet to capitalize on the market for speeds that seemed like overkill just a few years ago – customer demands that the Tellabs 7100 Nano system can easily support. “We’re starting to see many customers that didn’t need

even 100 Mbps 2 to 5 years ago but who now are talking about a gigabit and beyond,” Germani said. According to Vertical Systems Group, slightly less than 30%

of U.S.-based businesses have fiber connectivity. Europe and other parts of the world have a mixture of markets with lower and higher fiber connectivity levels than in the United States. “AboveNet’s offerings should appeal to fiber-connected

businesses that seek scale, low latency and reliability,” said Rosemary Cochran, Vertical Systems Group principal. “There is certainly a need for that type of offering.” The Tellabs 7100 Nano system meets those low-latency

requirements by using new dispersion-compensation solutions to shorten the fiber path, as well as ultra-low-latency amplification for accelerating data transit.

TELLABS INSIGHT Q2 12