An enterprise end-user survey indicates that enterprises have a good understanding of different types of Ethernet service configurations available in the market. Key findings from the survey include:
- While metro E-Line and E-LAN services continue to see widespread adoption, long haul E-Line circuits are seeing a faster rate of adoption in the market. This indicates a greater penetration of (and future demand for) intercity Ethernet services in the market today.
- In terms of bandwidth adoption trends for E-Line services, small businesses indicated a preference for 2-10M and 11-100M, with medium and large businesses choosing 101M-1G speeds. However, the results for E-LAN services are different with all sizes of businesses showing a greater preference for 101M-1G—for both current and planned usage.
- Ethernet access delivered over fiber is the most preferred type of Ethernet access; however, Ethernet over Copper (EoC) is not far behind, with 40 percent of current users indicating they use EoC access services.
Conclusions of this survey indicated the following:
- Survey results indicate growing penetration of Carrier Ethernet services in enterprise WAN networks. More than 55 percent of the survey respondents indicated they currently use Ethernet services. More than 61 percent indicated they plan to use Ethernet services in the next 12-24 months.
- The overall demand for Ethernet is expected to grow in the near future.
- E-Line adoption trends, as indicated by this survey, confirm the growing demand for long haul E-Line circuits.
- Leading Ethernet service providers have been making great progress in terms of their long haul Ethernet network expansion, and are well positioned to take advantage of the growth trends indicated by these survey results.
- E-LAN adoption trends indicate that 23 percent of current Ethernet service users are using metro E-LAN service versus 15 percent using VPLS. However, future adoption trends indicate that 40 percent of respondents planning to use Ethernet will use metro E-LAN service versus just 17 percent choosing VPLS.
- Enterprises prefer MPLS VPNs for connecting highly distributed locations.
- However, for enterprises wanting to connect locations nationally or globally, MPLS VPN is a better option. MPLS VPNs offer better reach and the flexibility of using multiple access technologies (DSL, T1/T3, SONET, Waves, Wireless, and Satellite), which is critical for enterprises wanting to connect thousands of locations where Ethernet is not ubiquitous.
- Ethernet VPLS, by its very nature, requires Ethernet access at all locations.
- Ethernet access delivered over fiber networks is the most widely used service, currently. However, Ethernet overCopper is gaining significant traction. This should make Ethernet providers that have invested in expanding their EoC networks in the past few years happy as not only is the demand for the service increasing, but some respondents indicated they would choose a higher bandwidth profile (51-100M) on EoC. This is a deviation from the typical 10M or lower speeds adopted on EoC in the past.
