This is all thanks to maturing technology, and the advent of fibre-based Gigabit Ethernet. Unlike its copper-based cousin, a Gigbit Ethernet signal remains strong over about 70K, making it a practical alternative to copper pairs for carrying large data packets over long distances.
Having recently completed research into this technology, Shara Evans, managing director of analyst group Telsyte, says there are already 14 companies offering Ethernet connectivity in Australia, with another three on track to offer it in the near future.
"Half of the services providers are targeting the corporate market, about 64 percent are rolling services out into SME's and about 57 percent are focusing on government and vertical industries," explains Evans. "Some are focusing specifically on regional markets, because they are a lot cheaper to dig up than inner city areas."
However, vast tracks of cable crossing the continent do not solve the more immediate problem of how to bridge the last mile to deliver Ethernet-based Internet access directly into the home and offices of broadband-hungry consumers.
Describing it as the most logical interface for Internet delivery, Agile's managing director Simon Hacket, says carriers are increasingly using Ethernet protocols over DSL lines to bridge the final gap into business premises and residences.
"What the customer sess is the Ethernet packets wrapped-up and sent over DSL," Hacket says. "They don't have to buy and ISDN connection or an ATM router, they just plug in to their connection."
While the high end of town can afford the extra expense to dig up the pavement and lay down new cable, Hacket says the market tends to jump over mid-sized businesses, and grow again at the small-end of town, as pint sized businesses log on to increased band-width without having to lay out initially for a ATM routers and or ISDN connections.
-Mid-sized companies have often already paid for the hardware for other types of broadband connection, and are not interested in reinvesting at the moment," Hacket explained.
Describing Ethernet as a cheep cheerful way to deliver widespread broadband services, Flow Communications' product manager Andrew Passell believes the -last mile" problem will be rapidly overcome and Ethernet becomes an increasingly prevalent offering.
-We are seeing a lot more new premises being cabled for data and home entertainment purposes," Passell says, however he doubts cabling will come to the door of every home and office. -No one is going to folk out the money to cable right into their house when they can get wireless access nearby, gigabit Ethernet will become the standard over the long haul, then the medium that sits in between the exchange and the customer's premises can be anything with an Ethernet interface, copper, radio, fibre, whatever is available."
Building on Success
While the cost associated with digging up the street to lay down cables remains the biggest and most expensive impediment to further fibre roll-outs, service providers are lobbying utilities, councils and builders in an attempt to get in on the ground floor.
In the heady days of the tech boom emerging telcos would pay large premiums to cable up new buildings with fibre in an effort to capture market share, however Brendon Park, director of products and marketing at Uecomm believes the tables are turning.
-Building owners are in a bit of a bind - they want us in there to add value to their site, but they want to make a buck if they can," Park says.
With the market grab business model having been sacrificed at the hands of the tech wreck, telcos are more cautious about how they spend their money. This has lead to an interesting phenomena according to Telsyte's Evans, whereby Ethernet services are readily obtainable in recently developed areas within the CBD, and regional centres where it is cheaper to dig up the streets. However, metropolitan and suburban districts may not see the services for some time.
-This also fits in with the target markets with over half of the service providers targeting the corporate market place," Evans said. -Government is another important market, as are vertical industries."
According to Evans the early adopters are predominantly those companies who are interested in creating rapid wide area networks, in order to back up their databases, also pointing out that the service is often sold as part of a managed storage package.
However, the service has been of particular interest to the medical, educational and media sectors, as it enables a range of high bandwidth applications.
-We have had some major wins in media recently," says Uecomm's Park. -A lot of post productions houses are using the Internet to transfer material between post productions houses in Sydney, and the US."
While she is reserved regarding the potential of consumer markets in Australia, Evans believes Ethernet rollout into the corporate sector is set to grow rapidly, as the market reaches maturity.
-Really it comes down to the fact that if you need the speed and you can afford it, you will go for fibre-based Ethernet solution," Evans says.
