Large businesses in the United States looking for high-bandwidth networks that can handle several technologies have a new option available to them with the launch of a dedicated optical network service from Verizon Communications' business unit.

Verizon Business' Integrated Optical Service allows companies to integrate Ethernet service and optical technologies, such as dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) and synchronous optical network (SONET), into a single-ring network, the company said. The service can support several applications, including time-division multiplexing (TDM), storage, video and mainframe applications.

"You can bring it all together under a single platform," said Mike Marcellin, vice president of product marketing at Verizon Business. "All the types of applications and protocols our customers are asking for are now are able to be delivered over a single architecture."

The service, with total bandwidth capability of 440Gbps, is targeted at customers with high-bandwidth requirements, including the financial, healthcare, government and education sectors. It's the first dedicated optical network service offered by a top-tier telecom provider, according to Verizon.

"That's a lot of bandwidth," said Michael DiVecchia, Verizon Business' group manager for optical product management.

The service may not generate broad interest among large businesses, but "to particular types of companies they are critical," said Lisa Pierce, vice president at Forrester Research. Some customers in media and financial services "who need very large amounts of bandwidth" will be interested in the service, she said.

Companies going through mergers that are trying to patch together different types of networks would also benefit, as would companies looking for ways to join legacy networks for other reasons, Pierce said.

"Carrier consolidation forces this type of service," she said. "If you look at the types of optical services a Verizon or AT&T has at a local level, you'll see great variation based on legacy provider."

The Integrated Optical Service uses an optical transport platform called reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer, or ROADM, that allows customers to converge voice, video and data with a range of other applications on a high-speed network, Verizon Business said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

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