The Big Apps: Cold Puck, Hot Packets – The "Meet Me" Series Returns to 151 Front St. West (Toronto)

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by Hunter Newby

North of the border, up Canada way, Ethernet and VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) are showing tremendous growth and activity, as they are almost everywhere else in the world. But one city, Toronto, and one carrier hotel, 151 Front Street West, leads the way for everyone in the area.

No doubt, 151 Front is the place to go for all of the hottest games in town when it comes to these rule-breaking services, and given that there are no Maple Leafs games to attend, 151 Front also has the best action around. So trade in your cross-checks for cross-connects and check out which service providers are facing off in the game of PSTN (public switched telephone network) replacement and paving the way for IP everything.

Most, if not all, of the metro and long haul fiber in and through Toronto touches 151 Front. This is the physical layer basis for the next greatest thing in transport, Ethernet. The enterprise LANs (local area networks) of many cities, including Toronto, are 10-100 megabits-plus of pent up demand. Metro and long haul Ethernet service providers pave the way for packet-based last mile, metro interconnect and international access offerings that enable Toronto-based enterprises to peer data traffic, including voice, with each other locally and to reach out to other major city centers around the world.

Let's not forget wireless Ethernet either. For those buyers that may not be on a fiber path, have no access to a land-based Ethernet service provider or just want a back-up plan, there are wireless options that cover the city and have a presence at 151 Front providing access to every possible alternative for communications services needs.

Indeed, a new equation to the marketplace is the use of fixed wireless providers to supply cost-effective Ethernet transport links to multi-location enterprise clients. TeraGo Networks Inc., Canada's largest fixed wireless data services provider, is a prime example of the power of Ethernet. TeraGo's entire network is an Ethernet delivery platform that maintains a termination presence within Canada's largest carrier hotel, 151 Front.

Some larger enterprise clients are utilizing TeraGo VLAN (metro area LAN extension) service to aggregate traffic from multiple suburban manufacturing locations to TeraGo's point of presence in 151 Front. This traffic is then handed off to whomever the clients need. Because TeraGo's fixed wireless network provides a cost-effective solution to reach areas typically not served by high-speed services (above 1.5 Mbps), never mind Ethernet transport, clients are able to purchase a ubiquitous local loop that is capable of carrying any combination of data traffic. TeraGo's VLAN services are fully Layer 2 for the transport. Customers can run any protocol (including IP) on the service, and management of those services is Layer 3, making it transparent to the customer.

The flurry of new service providers at this layer are enabling many VoIP services, including hosted IP PBX (private branch exchange), flat-rate domestic and international calling and aggressive wholesale rates for everything that isn't on-net. The carrier hotel is home to many international VoIP gateway operators. Service providers such as Primus Telecommunications and Yak Communications, along with others (see table) have established interconnection points in the building. This cluster enables easy access to the best rates and quality for voice minutes.

Wholesale voice service applies to many customer segments ranging from calling cards for the international community living in the Toronto area to the enterprise IT departments moving to VoIP PBX systems. The enterprise is coming around to a reality that the international community has been aware of for some time: that wholesale rates are available and accessible, and they can save thousands of dollars a year or more. Access is the key. That's where Ethernet comes in.

Note: Contact information is from the original May 2005 publication.

Ethernet transport circuits are the ties that bind the enterprise VoIP networks in the metro and long haul. Due to the current usage of and demand for Ethernet in the marketplace, most long haul and even many metro routes are now supported by 2.5G and 10G wavelengths. Many high-end core transport equipment vendors already are testing 40G in anticipation of the coming enterprise application shift to packet-based everything. Sorry OC-768, you're no longer on the roadmap. It's a packet world now.

Note: Contact information is from the original May 2005 publication.

Director, leasing and property management, for Northam Realty Advisors, Scott Metcalfe, says that the building appears to have a "breeder reactor" effect. "Many tenants have started with one or two racks and after taking advantage of the connectivity at 151 Front, have increased their presence dramatically," Metcalfe says. "Most have cited the building's services coupled with its advanced capabilities—connectivity, power, cooling and security—as the reasons for their expansion.

"The business climate is also right for these increases," adds Metcalfe. Access, speed, choice and price are driving the network transformation process in the Great White North, as well as other parts of the globe, and if the service exists in Toronto, it's available at 151 Front.

Now if the National Hockey League could only get back on track, all would be right in the world. In the meantime, we'll have to settle for packets over pucks and stick to Ethernet and VoIP.

Originally published in FATPIPE magazine, May 2005. Hunter Newby was CEO of TELX at the time of this publishing.

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