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Today, Verizon Avenue principally serves apartment buildings. Now the unit will go after office buildings as well, competing with such established providers as Intermedia's Advanced Buildings Networks unit, plus numerous start-ups backed by real estate investment trusts and other commercial real estate interests. In addition, the acquisition addresses Verizon's need to begin serving local customers outside its territory, which was recently swelled by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. Verizon Avenue has contracts to serve buildings in 31 states, including such out-of-region markets for Verizon as Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Denver and Phoenix. The Bell Atlantic/GTE merger agreement includes a requirement imposed by the Federal Communications Commission for Verizon to spend at least $500 million in capital on CLEC operations outside its own territories. Verizon's move especially threatens broadband cable providers, according to a report from market watcher Current Analysis. "In densely populated areas, DSL equipment in one or two multidwelling units could serve multiple surrounding buildings," the report says. Indeed, Verizon says it aims to increase Verizon Avenue's level of available buildings from 690,000 dwelling or office units today to two million within five years. But Verizon faces hurdles in achieving those goals, according to Current Analysis. First, Verizon Avenue's building contracts are generally not exclusive. Second, competing DSL providers may complain about a dominant carrier such as Verizon extending DSL equipment to areas with little or no collocation space such as in-building wiring closets. That could engender the kind of delays caused when independent DSL carriers complained to the government about SBC Communications' move to put DSL termination equipment in small neighborhood terminals rather than central offices under its Project Pronto scheme. Those DSL competitors may have one advantage over Verizon Avenue. In the original Bell Atlantic region - from Maine to Virginia - the unit will not be allowed to bundle long-distance with local voice, Internet access and video services until the parent Verizon company wins long-distance authority for those states. Verizon has long-distance authority only for New York and last month withdrew an application for Massachusetts. More information about Verizon Avenue's services is available at www.onepointcom.com
Verizon takes in-building telecom service plunge
 
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NEW YORK - Mega-Bell Verizon has finally found a competitive local exchange carrier segment it likes.
After dropping its merger with DSL service provider NorthPoint Communications, Verizon has quietly held onto a less well-known provider of in-building telecommunications services. During the holiday period, Verizon closed an acquisition of CLEC OnePoint Communications that it had announced last August, and renamed the unit Verizon Avenue. The key for Verizon in going ahead with the OnePoint deal was a critical network-edge issue: The subsidiary locates switching equipment inside multitenant buildings and from there runs DSL over short copper loops up the risers or to nearby buildings. "All circuits will be well within the distance limitations of DSL, making Verizon Avenue's high-speed Internet access available to every resident or tenant in a Verizon Avenue building," Verizon Avenue CEO Jim Otterbeck says.Sign up for David Rohde's "View from The Edge" newsletter.
Today, Verizon Avenue principally serves apartment buildings. Now the unit will go after office buildings as well, competing with such established providers as Intermedia's Advanced Buildings Networks unit, plus numerous start-ups backed by real estate investment trusts and other commercial real estate interests. In addition, the acquisition addresses Verizon's need to begin serving local customers outside its territory, which was recently swelled by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. Verizon Avenue has contracts to serve buildings in 31 states, including such out-of-region markets for Verizon as Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Denver and Phoenix. The Bell Atlantic/GTE merger agreement includes a requirement imposed by the Federal Communications Commission for Verizon to spend at least $500 million in capital on CLEC operations outside its own territories. Verizon's move especially threatens broadband cable providers, according to a report from market watcher Current Analysis. "In densely populated areas, DSL equipment in one or two multidwelling units could serve multiple surrounding buildings," the report says. Indeed, Verizon says it aims to increase Verizon Avenue's level of available buildings from 690,000 dwelling or office units today to two million within five years. But Verizon faces hurdles in achieving those goals, according to Current Analysis. First, Verizon Avenue's building contracts are generally not exclusive. Second, competing DSL providers may complain about a dominant carrier such as Verizon extending DSL equipment to areas with little or no collocation space such as in-building wiring closets. That could engender the kind of delays caused when independent DSL carriers complained to the government about SBC Communications' move to put DSL termination equipment in small neighborhood terminals rather than central offices under its Project Pronto scheme. Those DSL competitors may have one advantage over Verizon Avenue. In the original Bell Atlantic region - from Maine to Virginia - the unit will not be allowed to bundle long-distance with local voice, Internet access and video services until the parent Verizon company wins long-distance authority for those states. Verizon has long-distance authority only for New York and last month withdrew an application for Massachusetts. More information about Verizon Avenue's services is available at www.onepointcom.com
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