Covage, a French “operator of operators” that enables local access operators and Internet service providers to deliver IP services to government and business customers, has selected the ETX-201A Carrier Ethernet demarcation device from RAD Data Communications to offer wholesale broadband services to service providers, as well as deliver similar services directly to its own customers.
Covage currently has direct and indirect interests in 14 long-term network concession areas, allocated by the French government in exchange for a commitment to roll out FTTH connectivity to diverse government and business customers.. The national transmission network that Covage has deployed utilizes 3,700 kilometers of dark fiber infrastructure to create a ringed network from Arras in the north to Montpellier in the south, serving 2,372 communities with over five million inhabitants, as well as almost 158,000 businesses of all sizes.
“To meet the needs of major operators throughout its network, Covage developed a Layer 2 Ethernet service that ensures flow-based, transparent delivery of customer data regardless of the protocols used and without changing the customer’s VLAN definitions,” states Norbert Blanchard, Director of Operations. “To implement the service, Covage required an Ethernet demarcation device with data rates up to 1 Gbps to mark the boundary between customer and operator networks,” he adds. While a number of competing devices were tested in its laboratory, Covage found that only RAD’s ETX was compatible with Covage strict technical requirements.
Moreover, Covage has recently deployed with success an Ethernet VPN for a major French service provider using RAD’s ETX-201A demarcation device. This Ethernet VPN is spread across three Covage network concession areas based in Burgundy – Creusot Montceau Networks, Grand Chalon Networks and 3CNET – and allows high bandwidth service capacity to 18 high schools.
“Working with RAD distributor FONEX, which was already a long term supplier to both Covage in France and Covage’s sister company Axia in Canada, made things happen smoothly,” concludes Blanchard. “FONEX helps up us in providing competitive yet adequate telecom solutions and services to our customers, in a very supportive way.”
“Customers are embracing Carrier Ethernet services because they offer higher bandwidth, competitive pricing, flexibility, and scalability,” notes Sammy Elalouf, Sales Director at RAD Data Communications. “On their end, carriers and service providers see an opportunity to enhance their business networking solutions portfolios with Next Generation services that are cheaper to operate and that combine added user value with quick return on investment and sustainable revenue potential,” he explains. “RAD is helping lead the industry in developing the solutions required to make such advances possible.”
RAD's ETX-201A Carrier Ethernet demarcation device transports Fast Ethernet traffic over Gigabit Ethernet fiber access links, delivering EPL and EVPL services. MEF-9 and MEF-14 certified, the ETX-201A features advanced Carrier Ethernet capabilities that make it ideal for multi-carrier or mobile backhaul networks. These include advanced Ethernet operations, administration and management (OAM) and performance monitoring support to allow proactive inspection and diagnostics over the entire service path. In addition, traffic engineering functionalities per user port, per Ethernet flow and per class of service (CoS) allow carriers and service providers to offer differentiated services with strict SLAs and guaranteed quality-of-service (QoS).
The RAD solution was recommended and supplied to Covage by FONEX France, a local RAD partner.
Covage was founded by Axia NetMedia Corporation and its French partner, VINCI Networks, as a 50%-50% partnership. Axia designs, develops and operates no conflict Open Access Next Generation Networks (OAN NextGen) that provide uncompromised connectivity in and between both large and small markets. Leveraging its international experience, Axia provides network design, equipment selection and installation, operation and sales of IP services expertise. For each project, VINCI Networks provides the construction, project management, infrastructure and knowledge of the France marketplace to the joint venture.
Covage site: www.covage.com
Founded in 1989, with offices in Canada, France and now in Italy, FONEX has been a RAD partner since 1997. FONEX, a value-added distributor (VAD), network integrator and solutions provider is focused on serving the needs of customers in North America and Europe who own and operate telecommunication network infrastructures for their own internal requirements or for the resale of carrier services. FONEX expertise and know how, led to their selection by major Canadian and European ILECs, CLECs and ISPs, for the supply of a broad range of telecommunication equipment, such as Ethernet demarcations units, CWDM backhaul systems and international SDH/SONET gateways.
