tw telecom Ranked 3rd on VSG's Business Ethernet Leader Board

For a number of years now, tw telecom has placed among the top three on Vertical Systems Group's (VSGs) Business Ethernet Leader Board. VSG's leader-board denotes the corporations with the greatest number of Carrier Ethernet retail port installs and is home to two other well-known providers – Verizon and AT&T (who placed second and first respectively).

Tw telecom's senior VP of business development and strategy, Michael Rouleau, explained that the provider competes with "the big guys," adding that on a nationwide basis, the customers must decide between one of the big guys or them. Rouleau went on to say that two of the driving forces behind customers selecting tw telecom are due to the fact that they are "more innovative and nimble," allowing the provider to quickly bring things to market.

VSGs principal and cofounder, Rosemary Cochran, said that as well as concentrating exclusively on enterprise clients, tw telecom has established a market position that addresses the necessities of medium and large-scale organizations that possess advanced networking or a blend of services. Cochran added that in order to reach all end user sites the provider also deploys a number of various access technologies as needed.

Currently, tw telecom's fiber network services more than 10,500 end-user customer buildings with over 300 of its own collocation and third-party data centers connected to its network. Rouleau noted that finance and healthcare markets are seem to be predominantly keen on the provider, which is focused on connecting enterprise customers. He went on to say that in addition to extending its reach, tw telecom is also focused on convergence, leveraging Ethernet to collapse and deliver Internet, data and voice on the same Ethernet backbone.

By building across a common backbone and having a common CoS, and when paired with back-office capabilities, tw telecom is able to provide users with the same experience regardless of their location.

About tw telecom

As one of the top three providers of Business Ethernet, tw telecom has delivered voice, Internet, and data networking solutions to companies of all types and sizes across the nation. Since its start almost 20 years ago, tw telecom has changed the way people connect and communicate—seamlessly, reliably and securely.

tw telecom does not lump itself in with the other competitive carriers on the list.

The company's core strategy of putting fiber in the ground to serve buildings in 75 cities nationwide has kept it focused on connecting enterprise customers, said Rouleau.

The company's ability to innovate has given tw telecom "first mover" advantages, said Rouleau. For example, in 2000 tw telecom was early to market with business Ethernet services on its switch-based, SONET, DWDM infrastructure, which enabled tw telecom to deliver services where customers needed them across a broad footprint. In 2003, the company launched a nationwide VPLS system, "several years before the incumbents," he added. This in turn won the company the attention of financial services customers looking for Layer 2, VPLS-based Ethernet solutions instead of private line service.

"When you bring that level of innovation, you acquire and hold onto customers for a long time," said Rouleau.

Today, tw telecom offers customers fractional 10 Gb/s Ethernet service and five classes of service across both its Ethernet and MPLS networks. This is unique in that it allows customers to have the bandwidth they need and a single class of service strategy regardless of what type of network service they want – Ethernet, MPLS, etc.

While tw telecom's network allows it to reach half of U.S. businesses, it purchases services from other providers or uses new off-net solutions from vendors such as Overture Networks to bring Ethernet to the rest, said Rouleau

Additional Information

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