Meet Me in Toronto
May 1, 2003
Originally published in FAT PIPE Magazine, May 2003
Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series looking at the dominant "meet me" facilities in 10 major North American cities. Author Hunter Newby was chief strategy officer for TELx.
Owned and managed by Trizec Properties, 151 Front Street in Toronto serves as Canada's premier carrier hotel. Home to more than 150 telecommunications companies, it's one of North America's most connected buildings with nine unique fiber-optic networks, 25 diverse entrances and more than 7,000 strands of fiber.
It isn't stretching matters to say 151 Front is at the heart of every major provider's network in Canada. In some ways, every facilities-based telecommunications carrier in Canada has a footprint at 151 Front.
The building maintains its own fiber "meet me" room as an entrance and interconnection point. This location is limited to fiber only and is approximately 450 square feet in size. An independent operator, Remote Access Company Limited (RACO Canada), manages the largest neutral point of interconnection there. RACO manages all access at the electrical level to carriers in the meet me room.
Operating since 1995, RACO Canada facilities incorporate more than 25,000 square feet of fully operational carrier neutral collocation space covering seven different suites at 151 Front Street. About 5,000 square feet of private office space also is available.
RACO is one of the most experienced operating collocation service providers in the North American telecommunications industry. RACO also is Canada's largest carrier neutral collocation provider. Since 1991, RACO's collocation sites have provided a carrier neutral place to house telecommunications switching, transmission and Internet-access equipment, enabling the exchange of telecommunications traffic in a neutral setting.
RACO has succeeded due to its premier 151 Front Street location, carrier neutrality, on-site technical staff 24/7/365 support, quick circuit delivery times and cross border access between the United States and Canada.
The RACO contact is Peter Burns, sales and marketing manager, (716) 852-7950 ext. 233, [email protected], www.racogroup.net.
| Attribute | Specification |
|---|---|
| Facility Size | 25,000 sq. ft. |
| Suite | 3rd, 6th and 7th floors |
| AC Power feed | 3,000 kva |
| Generator | 2 x 1,500 kw |
| Control system | Yes |
| UPS | Multiple systems |
| DC plant | Multiple systems |
| HVAC | Multiple redundant circuits |
| Fire suppression | FM 200 |
| Attribute | Specification |
|---|---|
| Building size | 297,000 sq. ft. |
| Union building | No |
| Building generator | Multiple |
| Generator rooms for tenants | Multiple |
| Roof access | Yes |
| Tenant conduit rights | Yes |
| Is there a building meet me room? | Yes |
| Is this MMR the featured site? | No |
| 360networks |
| AT&T Canada |
| Bell Canada |
| Bell Nexxia |
| Cogeco |
| Cogent Communications |
| Equant |
| Global Crossing |
| Group Telecom |
| HydroOne Telecom |
| Navigata |
| Primus Communications |
| Rogers Communications |
| Savvis Communications |
| Shaw/BigPipe |
| Sprint Canada |
| TeleGlobe |
| Telus |
| TorIX |
| T-Systems (Deutsche Telekom) |
| UUNet |
| VideoTron |
| 360networks |
| AT&T Canada |
| BCE Bell |
| Call-Net |
| Group Telecom |
| Rogers Communications |
| Telus |
| Toronto Hydro |
| Videotron |
| Guideline | Response |
|---|---|
| Can customers order cross connects to any other meet area customer? | Yes |
| Is the average turnaround time for cross connects 48 hours or less? | Yes |
| Is on-site technical support available 24/7/365? | Yes |
| Can customers access the site 24/7/365? | Yes |
| Can the technicians test and turn up circuits? | Yes |
| Does the meet area operator perform the cross connect? | Yes |
| Can the customer perform the cross connect? | No |
| Are all cross connects tagged and inventoried? | Yes |
| Is there a shared fiber panel (MDF, CFDP)? | Yes |
| Can the customer bring and install its own fiber distribution panels? | In their space, yes |
| Is there a shared COAX or copper panel? | Yes |
| Can the customer bring and install its own COAX or copper panel? | In their space, yes |
| Are there monthly recurring charges to cross connect in the meet area? | Yes |
| Do all of the building tenants have a presence in the interconnect facility? | No |
| What percentage is it? | 80% |
