Service provider taps Riverstone

SACRAMENTO - Service provider SureWest Communications has selected Riverstone Networks to supply routers for delivery of metropolitan Ethernet services across geographically separate networks.

SureWest's EtherMAN service for businesses and government offices throughout Sacramento provides tiered bandwidth, VPNs and virtual private LANs. SureWest, one of the largest independent operating companies (IOC) in the country, is deploying Riverstone's RS 38000, RS 8000, RS 3000 and RS 1000 routers throughout the metropolitan core to the access edge.

Neither Riverstone nor SureWest provided specifics on the number of routers deployed, the number of points of presence or the financial scope of the deal. The RS 38000s are in the metropolitan core, aggregating traffic from RS 8000s in smaller points of presence; the RS 3000s and RS 1000s are at the access edge feeding traffic to the RS 8000s.

SureWest serves 140,000 subscribers.

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SACRAMENTO - Service provider SureWest Communications has selected Riverstone Networks to supply routers for delivery of metropolitan Ethernet services across geographically separate networks.

SureWest's EtherMAN service for businesses and government offices throughout Sacramento provides tiered bandwidth, VPNs and virtual private LANs. SureWest, one of the largest independent operating companies (IOC) in the country, is deploying Riverstone's RS 38000, RS 8000, RS 3000 and RS 1000 routers throughout the metropolitan core to the access edge.

Neither Riverstone nor SureWest provided specifics on the number of routers deployed, the number of points of presence or the financial scope of the deal. The RS 38000s are in the metropolitan core, aggregating traffic from RS 8000s in smaller points of presence; the RS 3000s and RS 1000s are at the access edge feeding traffic to the RS 8000s.

SureWest serves 140,000 subscribers.

IOCs sprouted from the Communications Act of 1934, which sanctioned independent telephone companies to provide telephone service at competitive rates to those parts of the U.S. - chiefly, rural communities - that the former Bell System bypassed. Today, more than 1,300 IOCs connect the national network to the rural and remote areas.

But all IOCs exist within an environment characterized by a poor economy, falling access line counts and wireless substitution, according to Probe Research. Many of these carriers serve rural areas with as few as 500 lines. They therefore also have to contend with longer loop lengths and low density of households, which increases the cost of delivering service and upgrades.

Being in a rural area does not mean subscribers are deprived of cutting-edge telephony services. IOCs are at the forefront of new service rollouts as they are spurred by significant competitive threats from other providers, and the lack of regulatory restrictions imposed on regional Bell operating companies. The Federal Communications Commission lifted its ban on nondominant carriers bundling customer premises equipment and service, Probe says.

This is one reason equipment vendors have increasingly focused on developing and marketing products specifically for IOCs. Another reason is that IOCs have access to a large federal fund. The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is the federal agency for rural infrastructure assistance in electricity, water and telecom. RUS funds let IOCs secure guaranteed loans from the federal government.

According to Riverstone, RUS last year accepted applications for $15 million in grants, $200 million in loans and $110 million for grant/loan combinations.

Probe says that IOCs benefit from a lack of competition. Forty-two percent of rural carriers do not face any broadband rivals, the research firm says. Growth among IOCs is likely, Probe says, as 10 million RBOC lines are expected to be divested to independents in the next several years.

Read more about internet routing in Network World's Internet Routing section.