Edinburgh-based UK business ISP Commsworld has today launched a new and more “cost effective” business-grade broadband service using Ethernet over Fibre to the Premises (EoFTTP) technology, which they say can provide “minimum bandwidth assurances as well as rapid repair times in the event of a fault.”
EoFTTP typically sits somewhere in the middle between consumer FTTP broadband lines, which often have no or very little in the way of guarantees regarding reliability or higher bandwidth when put under pressure by heavy usage, and more expensive Ethernet leased lines that offer guaranteed higher bandwidth all day every day with a strong Service Level Agreement (SLA).
The EoFTTP solution is thus more intended to cater for smaller businesses that don’t need a leased line, but where consumer FTTP might well be too risky for some of their needs. Commsworld’s EoFTTP also utilises the growing FTTP coverage from a number of network builders, including Openreach and CityFibre, as well as Commsworld’s own fibre infrastructure across many major Scottish cities and large areas in Northumberland.
Charlie Boisseau, CTO at Commsworld, said:
“The lack of a quality option that sits in the middle of the market for business is a problem that has persisted for years, but hasn’t been filled due to lack of fibre infrastructure. Commsworld’s EoFTTP leverages the growing abundance of this new FTTP coverage across multiple operators to fill that gap – especially for SMEs that do not need the top-end service more suited to bigger corporates.
In essence, it utilises the infrastructure that is now on the market for individuals and homeowners, where they share networks with other neighbours, with just a single fibre cable delivering this shared network to their homes.
But in terms of reliability, flexibility and speed of service, Commsworld’s EoFTTP is a true Ethernet circuit and is therefore capable of delivering all Commsworld’s standard Fibre Ethernet features reliably and flexibly – with the usual end-to-end resilience of all our products, as well as a highly valuable burstable increase to 1Gbps when needed.”
Through this fibre connection, EoFTTP pledges to guarantee 100Mbps as a minimum, but is also ‘burstable’ to 1Gbps during higher demand periods. Commsworld plans to add additional alternative network operators to further extend coverage of EoFTTP in the coming months.
We should point out that a number of other ISPs have also launched EoFTTP products over the past few years.