With the adoption of cloud-based services, CRM systems, and VoIP and video conferencing, enterprises are expanding their wide-area data networks to offices around the globe. In response, telcos are scrambling to offer wide-area network (WAN) services, such as IP VPN and Ethernet, in diverse locales.
New data from TeleGeography’s Global Enterprise Networks research service reveal that the availability of Ethernet-based services (EoMPLS, EoSDH, and VPLS) increased more than 40 percent between Q3 2010 and Q3 2011, while international IP VPN service availability grew 8 percent. Although Ethernet services are expanding more rapidly, international IP VPN services were available nearly twice as often at Q3 2011.
Partnerships have played a crucial role in helping to extend the reach of telcos’ IP VPN services. “Only a small number of carriers possess the scale and network reach to deliver on-net VPN service in more than a handful of countries,” said TeleGeography analyst Greg Bryan.
TeleGeography found that carriers surveyed relied on a partner’s network to deliver international VPN service nearly 60 percent of the time. Only 4 of the 73 service providers in the study were able to deliver on-net VPN service in half or more of the 166 cities covered. Topping the list was Orange Business Services, which was able to deliver on-net VPN service in more than 90 percent of the covered markets. AT&T and BT Global Services followed, serving 61 and 60 percent, respectively, while Telstra International reached 55 percent. Sprint ranked fifth, delivering on-net service in 46 percent of cities.
“Global enterprise service providers such as Orange Business Services and AT&T have invested heavily in expanding MPLS IP VPN-enabled PoPs internationally,” said Greg Bryan. “In the coming years, expansion is more likely to focus on Ethernet services, particularly as Ethernet access networks become more widely available.”
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