Yipes gets cash

We haven’t heard from Yipes Enterprise Services in more than a year, but this week the company announced it has received fresh funding to continue to offer Ethernet metro-area services.

The ironic thing about Yipes’ silence over the last 14 months is that it was extremely vocal back in the boom times, extolling the virtues of Ethernet not only as a LAN technology but also as a metro-area and perhaps even a WAN technology. But a name change (technically, a different company with the same assets) and a Chapter 11 filing later, Yipes is a little more modest – or at least a little quieter.

You can find more details in Network World Executive Editor Bob Brown’s article:

https://www.nwfusion.com/edge/news/2003/0916yipes.html

The whole fiasco begs the question of whether Ethernet is a good choice as a metro-area technology, since Yipes was one of the biggest proponents. But the benefits are still there – lower costs than leased lines, and the ease of use in connecting directly to Ethernet.

The cost difference probably won’t be as pronounced as it was back in the day. As Bob’s article points out, price pressures are less than they used to be, with WorldCom/MCI in bankruptcy. But the cost comparison will still be favorable.

It will be interesting to see if Yipes takes its $63 million and its new start and builds something that can last, something that can compete against giants in the telecom industry.