Rim-Extreme Copper Agreement

[destiny1]

Here is an abstract talking about the coming Ethernet over Copper trend. This is Extreme Copper's space. The major telcos (Tier 1) are all getting involved in this space. An important are to watch. CupriaTM chipsets also supply this space.

Ethernet Alchemy: Gold From Copper
Simon Sherrington | Analyst, Light Reading

After several years of standards and R&D work, there's strong demand for products capable of delivering first-mile Ethernet services over legacy copper networks. While still relatively immature, the Ethernet-over-copper market now appears set for rapid growth, as the interest of major carriers begins to turn into widespread deployment.

Carrier Ethernet services continue to gain momentum as business users look to upgrade beyond the bandwidth limitations and relatively high cost of T1/E1 services. Yet delivery of wide-area Ethernet has historically hinged in large part on the availability of fiber-optic plant to reach those customers. Those business sites located close to fiber rings, and whose need could justify the cost of running a fiber connection to a building or campus, have been the principal beneficiaries of carrier Ethernet services; those beyond the fiber footprint have been largely shut out of the carrier Ethernet revolution.

But now, the fiber-only nature of carrier Ethernet is set to undergo a significant change. The emergence of standards-based equipment capable of delivering Ethernet services over legacy copper access lines, combined with ongoing work to create carrier Ethernet standards, has enabled operators to begin offering end-to-end Ethernet services over copper access infrastructure. The Ethernet-over-copper market is still in the formative stage, inhabited by a wide variety of vendors that includes many specialist equipment providers and many private companies. As the market grows, however, interest from incumbent telecom equipment manufacturers is beginning to build.

The Tier 1 vendors' attention is being attracted by the increased interest of heavyweight network operators and service providers in copper-based Ethernet. AT&T, for instance, issued a request for proposal late in 2006 and has reportedly awarded a contract for Ethernet-over-copper equipment to Adtran. Verizon Business is also reported to have awarded contracts in this space, and BT is deploying Ethernet access equipment in its 21st Century Network, including the capability to deliver Ethernet service over copper access infrastructure. Vendors widely report a dramatic surge in interest and demand over the past year, and particularly within the past six months.

This report analyzes the state of the Ethernet-over-copper sector from the perspectives of business and technology. It compares and evaluates the different technology strategies underlying Ethernet-over-copper solutions and offers guidance as to which approaches are likely to emerge as the leading solutions. The report also profiles 15 leading equipment manufacturers and provides a competitive analysis of their Ethernet-over-copper products and strategies.