Spectrotel Touts Resale Approach to Carrier Ethernet Services

CEN Feature (Jan 15 2013) Regional , Wholesale / Exchange

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   While many providers of Carrier Ethernet services tout their extensive network assets, Neptune, N.J.-based Spectrotel has a contrarian view.

   “We love the resale model,” said Spectrotel Chief Operations Officer Ross Artale in a recent interview.

   And although the resale model is known as a low-margin business, Artale said, ““Our core competency is our relationship with the ILECs. We will be able to command the best price and the best service. We’re priced very competitively.”

   Spectrotel, which has been reselling TDM-based voice and data services since the mid-1990s, added Carrier Ethernet offerings in 2012. After launching Ethernet private line (EPL) and transparent LAN service early in the year, the company in December added dedicated Internet access based on Ethernet over fiber.

   Spectrotel currently offers service in 13 LATAs, primarily through resale agreements with Verizon and some competitive carriers in the Northeast but according to Artale, “We will be nationwide quite soon.”

   The company offers copper-based Ethernet services, but one of its strong points is that it can offer fiber-based services anywhere in its footprint. Surprisingly, if no carrier has deployed fiber to a location, Artale said the incumbent will build out a fiber link.

   When that is necessary, he said service turn-up takes about 120 days. If the location is already connected to a metro fiber network, Artale said service is “readily available.” And if there is already a fiber connection to the location but it is not connected to the metro fiber network with a shared multiplexer, the standard interval is about 90 days, he said.

   Customers could buy these services directly from the incumbents. But Artale said one of Spectrotel’s selling points is that it provides customers with a single bill and a single point of contact even if they need service in markets served by multiple carriers. To support its services, Spectrotel operates what Artale called a “24/7 state-of-the-art network operations center.”

   “We monitor all of our circuits and devices,” said Artale. “We have complete visibility into what’s going on.”

   When it comes to Internet access, Artale said another advantage of buying service from Spectrotel is that customers can connect to a variety of upstream Internet service providers and are not required to use the same carrier that provides the Carrier Ethernet link.

   “The best thing about being non-facilities based is that we can pick and choose the best solution for each partner,” said Artale.

   Spectrotel customers come from a wide range of industries – from hospitals and schools to law firms, Artale said.

   Until two years ago, he said decisions often were made on the basis of cost. But he said, “The last two years it’s all about bandwidth. . . People really want bandwidth and [demand is] increasing exponentially.”

   That reality makes Spectrotel’s fiber-based service particularly attractive because customers can purchase 10 Mbps service today and easily upgrade to 50 or 100 Mbps at a later date, Artale said.

    

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