February 15, 2013 — PHILADELPHIA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company, today announced it is the first service provider in the world to achieve Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE 2.0) certification from the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) for E-Line and E-LAN services. As more businesses shift from legacy telecom services to Ethernet, the new CE 2.0 certifications are designed to deliver improved classes of service, service manageability, and interoperability for delivery across multiple networks.
“A milestone was reached this year when for the first time Carrier Ethernet services share of bandwidth exceeded the sum total of all legacy telecom services across the world, with Frost & Sullivan, Vertical Systems and Infonetics predicting a near $48 billion services market by 2015. We are therefore very pleased to see that Comcast has achieved the latest milestone in our industry – becoming the first CE 2.0 Service Provider,” said Nan Chen, president, MEF.
After extensive compliance testing by Iometrix, the MEF authorized certification test lab, the MEF certified Comcast Business Class Ethernet Private Line and Comcast Business Class Ethernet Virtual Private Line as CE 2.0 E-Line services and Comcast Business Class Ethernet Network Service as a CE 2.0 E-LAN service. All of Comcast’s Ethernet services are delivered over its next-generation, all-IP network that spans 39 states and the District of Columbia and serves 20 of the top 25 U.S. markets. Completely diverse from any telecom networks, Comcast’s network features a 100 Gbps backbone and pervasive, fiber-rich reach into its markets with an expanded local footprint through Ethernet over HFC. In addition, all of Comcast’s Ethernet network equipment suppliers are CE 2.0 certified, ensuring consistent service delivery across its nationwide footprint.
“From major healthcare groups to regional banks and organizations connecting to data centers, a wide range of mid-market and enterprise customers are turning to Comcast’s Ethernet services based on our extensive network reach and service availability, true network diversity, and continued investment in advanced network technologies,” said Mike Tighe, Executive Director of Data Services at Comcast Business Services. “As the first service provider in the world to offer CE 2.0 Ethernet services, this certification underscores our commitment to being a technology and standards leader in the Ethernet ecosystem to improve the quality, management and interoperability of Ethernet services for our customers.”
In addition to being the first service provider in North America to offer CE 2.0 certified Ethernet services, Comcast Business Services was also the first service provider to achieve all three of the previous CE 1.0 certifications (MEF 9, 14 and 18). The company has also served on the MEF Board of Directors since 2008, a seat currently held by Karen Schmidt, Executive Director of Enterprise Product Marketing at Comcast Business Services.
