Canadian provider looks to Redback

As customer demand for video-on-demand, DSL and VoIP grows, telecom service providers are counting on smarter, all-in-one edge routers to help deliver advanced services.

One such provider is Tiverton, Ont.-based Bruce Telecom Inc. Bruce provides phone and data services to over 30,000 customers in the Owen Sound-Kincardine region of Southwestern Ontario. When the telco recently decided to upgrade its network, it turned to Redback Networks.

SmartEdge, a platform that integrates the capabilities of three routers into one platform, allowed Bruce to lower its hardware acquisition costs and make the network manager’s job much easier, according to a ccompany representative.

Wayne Eichenberger, a senior technical with Bruce Telecom, says Redback Network’s multi-service router has helped Bruce deliver on not only triple-play services, but also on security.

“Our first goal is to consolidate our network and take the number of units we already had and integrate them into one unit. What we are hoping to be able to do is help ourselves and help our customers through enhanced services,” Eichenberger says.

“Going forward, one of the things that we will be doing is what we call attack mitigation and the SmartEdge platform helps us accomplish this.”

Service providers these days must have some sort of equipment service infrastructure to deliver more than just broadband, says John Spiliotis, vice-president of sales and operations for the Americas at Redback.

“It’s not just about high speed data access anymore, which used to be elegant years ago. Now it’s a cover charge. The difference that we see in our telecom customers is advanced services are the first point of IP-enabled infrastructure from a service provider,” he said.

“Data services are touched on the edge of that service provider’s network. Companies are getting squeezed by cable companies, so what customers like Bruce Telecom have to provide is integrated solutions to their end user customers. It’s triple-play — voice, video and data, not just one of those three.”

Network equipment providers such as Redback are quickly realizing that managed services are a robust and growing part of their revenue streams.

VARBusiness’ 2006 State of the Market survey indicates that 22 per cent of service providers plan on launching some form of managed service offering in 2007.

“The market for managed services will always be evolving, and we now have more partners taking the SmartEdge router and repackaging or bundling it with other services for customers to help build their own brand, because of the cost savings and breadth of services we can support through the SmartEdge architecture,” Spilotis says.

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