The Big Apps: The Crown Jewel of Emerald City – The "Meet Me" Series Returns to the Westin Building in Seattle

---

by Hunter Newby

Originally published in FATPIPE magazine, June 2005. Part of a series of articles examining carrier interconnection options in major North American cities.

Editors' note: Throughout 2004, this series identified the key physical layer carrier interconnection points within major North American markets. This year the series moves forward to identifying the service providers with the key wholesale enterprise-focused offerings within those markets. The key services in greatest demand by enterprise users today are Ethernet transport and VoIP (voice over IP).

The Crown Jewel of Emerald City

From coast to coast and back again, Ethernet and VoIP are helping to redesign the entire communications network infrastructure. When it comes to the Pacific Northwest, nothing comes close to the Westin Building in Seattle. It's a magnificent carrier hotel in a great city, and if the coffee in this town isn't enough to get you revved up and going, the availability of Ethernet transport certainly will. Couple that with several maturing VoIP service offerings, and you've got a combination that's better than a caramel mocha frappuccino.

There are several solid local access VoIP offerings from well-known providers in this region, and many of them accept Ethernet handoffs. This is a big plus for those looking to buy IP-based local service and run VoIP on a private (non-Internet) network. Additionally, many of these providers offer local access numbers from other rate centers across the country through the same Ethernet connection. What's also impressive is the availability of international VoIP termination from many of these providers. For regional service providers looking to create a bundled solution for their Pacific Northwest customers, there is much to choose from at the Westin Building.

Of course, all of that pent-up service capability needs to meet the pent-up demands of the buyers somehow, and the Westin is full of Ethernet transport providers ready and willing to connect enterprise LANs (local area networks) and IP-enabled PBXs (private branch exchanges) to those VoIP providers. There is a terrific mix of metro, domestic and international long haul Ethernet providers capable of interconnecting offices to the core and beyond at the most competitive rates and best possible quality. The benefit of such an interconnection point is choice, and the Westin Building, similar to other major carrier hotels in North America, has become the place to be with 22 (and counting) Ethernet transport providers.

Extreme Measures - Quantifying Markets & Demand

Although some people in the telecom business may think that times are tough, it all depends on where you are in the food chain. Just ask Michael Boyle, business development manager for the Westin Building. "Since just before close of 2004, there has been a significant up tick in business that has not let up and continues to show promise of additional growth," says Boyle. New leasing activity, equipment upgrades and continued industry consolidation are fostering new activity, while new developments in the Asia-Pacific telecom marketplace also have contributed to growth in the Pacific Northwest telecommunications marketplace.

One of those specific areas, WiMAX, has been getting a lot of attention recently, and one Seattle-based service provider, Speakeasy, is actually out there making it happen. Just recently the company announced its new pre-WiMAX standard service offering in Seattle. The company's approach to the market is different in that it is launching in a city rather than a rural or broadband-starved area. This new offering was developed in response to the need for more network access, as enterprises increase their usage of applications and voice calling over IP networks. Speakeasy's fixed-line business has grown quite nicely to date, with 60,000 customers in eight cities, and the company expects revenue of $70 million in 2005.

Because of the access it provides to every other major network, the Westin Building is a key to the company's success in Seattle. "The Westin Building is a landmark building for all Internet connectivity in and out of the Pacific Northwest," says Umesh Amin, vice president, WiMAX Initiative, for Speakeasy. "We have been operating our wireline business from this building for some time now."

The Westin Building houses one of Speakeasy's eight points of presence on its national network, which serves 120 markets in the United States.

"When we conceived our WiMAX service for Seattle, the Westin Building was the first building that we secured," says Amin. "We are delighted to have the Westin Building serve as our WiMAX Class service base station and are proud of the partnership that we have cultivated with the property management team."

These new types of service developments, the reasons why they are being developed and where they are being centrally located all reinforce key facts. First, the evolutionary shift from circuit to packet switching is taking place not just at layer 3 and up, but also layer 2. Secondly, broadband wireless has a role in this shift within the metro as well as remote areas. Thirdly, voice as an application has a lot to do with driving the layer 2 build outs based on a sound business case. So if you are in need of a jolt to your system, go grab a double espresso, set up a few meetings with your local area service provider representatives and chart a course around the Seattle sounds of VoIP and Ethernet.

About the Author

Hunter Newby was chief strategy officer of Telx at the time of this publishing. The Westin Building article is part of the "Meet Me" series examining carrier interconnection points and service offerings across North America.

Download PDF Scan