Caron Carlson

Small and midsize businesses have fewer options for converged Internet-based voice and data services than large enterprises with pricier access networks. But new standardization efforts for VOMPLS could make convergence more feasible for smaller companies. Brian Riggleman, who runs his own business in Owatonna, Minn., installing Windows 2000 and NT systems for small enterprises and […]

Data networks traditionally have not demanded the same degree of reliability and resiliency as the Public Switched Telephone Network. But as voice communications creep into data architectures, vendors of diverse network components are trying to integrate greater reliability intelligence into their devices. As each component becomes more feature-rich, however, network performance can be compromised. In […]

Companies rallying to keep their businesses running in defiance of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon this week are quickly facing one sticky question-how to communicate with colleagues and customers without traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to speak face to face. Many companies have already instituted travel bans, and those […]

Equipment vendors, reacting to the slowed economy, are pushing the message that todays entrenched networks are unwieldy and inefficient and are hurting the bottom line. This message is at the heart of a host of cost-saving products that the vendors said will offer a swift return on investment. Abeona Networks Inc., in Fremont, Calif., next […]

Surrounded by canyons and brilliant red-rock monoliths jutting out of the desert, businesses in Sedona, Ariz., are beyond the reach of most high-speed Internet access services provided by digital subscriber line and cable operators. Such a “hardship” is what draws many people to the area, and it is also what makes Sedona an ideal location […]

This week 3Com Corp. will roll out a series of routers and gateways to make it easier and faster for carriers to deploy voice-over-DSL services for small businesses. The new OfficeConnect equipment will let large incumbent phone companies and small local phone and network service providers offer small and midsize businesses alternatives in voice telephony […]

If youre seeing fewer choices in competitive telecommunications offerings these days, it may not be solely because of the industrys financial turmoil; in some cases, competitive carriers—rivals to incumbent telephone companies—cant get into your office building to make an offer. Ever since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 held out the promise of multiple, local service […]

Derek Breiland has been through this before. Just five months ago, when NorthPoint Communications Inc. went out of business, Breiland, communications services manager at Fastenal Co., in Winona, Minn., turned to his ISP (Internet service provider) to find new DSL (digital subscriber line) connections for dozens of retail sites around the country. What he settled […]

As DSL options for high-speed Internet access continue to dwindle, cable companies are moving aggressively into the commercial market with services designed to overcome user concerns about security and reliability. This week, Cox Business Services, a division of Cox Communications Inc., is rolling out a managed virtual private network product in all its 22 franchise […]

While major telecommunications infrastructure companies hit by the general spending slowdown are refocusing on tried-and-true technologies, smaller vendors are pressing ahead with next-generation networking, particularly optical communications. Optical switches remain expensive—costing up to $1 million each—and most industry observers argue that “pure” optical switching is neither available nor practical today. But, increasingly, optical components are […]

Even as the major telco vendors struggle to sell into large legacy networks, a growing interest in quick, easy and affordable advancements in IP telephony is fueling development at a number of startup companies. In the same week that Cisco Systems Inc. issued disappointing revenue and grim growth figures, two competing IP media server vendors […]

As networks become conduits for services more complex than simple transport, infrastructure manufacturers are increasing the stakes on the partnerships they forge with carrier customers. Long-accustomed to providing little more than dumb pipes, carriers rely on vendor expertise to demonstrate the value of smarter networks, but some vendors are beginning to require more expertise from […]