Summary
The horrific 9/11 tragedy has had a silver lining for the telecommunications industry. In effect, it created a quasi-greenfield situation in lower Manhattan in which Verizon’s only option was to tear up and rebuild the network. The RBOC was able to take advantage of the sympathies of New Yorkers in doing all the work there from the 140 West Street CO, including digging streets in areas that were not necessarily near Ground Zero.
Analysis
In fairness, the whole region in the lower section of Manhattan was part of a new telecom network. In essence, Verizon redid the whole grid down there. The RBOC ran out additional conduits and just loaded up to an astounding level with optical fiber. There is enough to do 1000G right now, let alone 100G. The service provider understood that it could not readily go back and make changes later. It did everything possible to protect and solidify that area, including the potential for a mesh architecture.
Only the general dealings between the New York Stock Exchange and Ciena on 100G have been publicized. The 100G deal was actually driven by Dow Jones. Obviously, Dow had to make sure that Verizon had the facilities in order to provide it with the necessary speed capabilities. The RBOC indeed at the time already had capabilities nearby because of the known broadband demands in the area.
Dow Jones does not want to deal with 40G because it is looking ahead for its network. However, it has no delusions. It realizes that it can only do two 40Gs in a 100G package, and then eventually switch over to a true 100G.
There have been other numerous inquiries about 100G within the lower part of Manhattan.
Getting Dow’s business with 100G is undoubtedly a big win for Ciena. There will be customers thinking that if the leading stock exchange in the world is going for it, then it must be good. The same dynamic happened with Nortel and 10G. Once the NYSE, a couple of financial institutions, and a few other top customers went with OC-192, the floodgates were open.
Mesh networks are the future in the metropolitan marketplace. Nevertheless, the growth in the mesh market has been tempered by the inability to grow throughout a metro region because of the current state of the network. This expansion has been delayed for various reasons. They include compatibility with other products, lack of available fibers, and financial cutbacks in order to complete more pressing projects.
Certainly in the New York City region in general, specific geographical areas are in a position to use (if they have not already begun to do so) mesh networks. A control plane enabled SONET mesh network can provide lower cost with better utilization versus a ring topology. It provides improved survivability as well as simplified and rapid service activation. As Verizon enhances its backbone solutions with fiber, more and more emphasis will be placed upon the mesh solution.
Samuel Greenholtz consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
