Special Heavy Reading Report Takes You Inside Ethernet Europe 2011

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Light Reading's 6th annual Ethernet Europe – the premier event covering Carrier Ethernet network technologies and services in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) – played host to a record 20 service provider experts from 19 network operators and Carrier Ethernet exchanges. Now you can view their perspectives on the key issues in today's Ethernet market, thanks to a major new report from Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com), a research division of Light Reading Communications Network.

Carrier Ethernet Service & Technology Trends & Issues: Europe is the first report prepared by Heavy Reading that captures service provider highlights from one of Light Reading's most popular and longstanding events. This report highlights key themes emerging from service provider perspectives shared at Ethernet Europe 2011. The report provides a window into the market unavailable from any other source and shares direct quotes and other candid feedback from many of the key movers and shakers in the Carrier Ethernet industry.

This report is centered on the service provider perspectives shared during the show. Comments and views expressed by equipment vendors and representatives of the MEF and ITU are beyond the scope of this report.

For the full list of service providers whose perspectives are covered in this report, please see: http://img.lightreading.com/heavyreading/pdf/hr20110511_company.pdf

"This report leverages Light Reading's unique ability as a research-led media company to assemble many of the industry's leading service provider and technology experts periodically throughout the year to spotlight key trends, progress, and challenges for the Carrier Ethernet industry," says Stan Hubbard – Senior Analyst at Heavy Reading, Chairman of Ethernet Europe, and author of the report. "Light Reading's Ethernet events have served as valuable networking opportunities for both non-sponsor and sponsoring attendees."

Key findings of Carrier Ethernet Service & Technology Trends & Issues: Europe include the following:

Experts from multiple service providers agreed that there were no major technology innovations in the market over the past year. Their comments indicated that most of the innovation that has taken place recently has had more to do with operators updating and strengthening their business processes, marketing strategies, and value-add "service wraps."

Multiple speakers confirmed that customers continue to steadily migrate from legacy TDM, Frame Relay, and ATM services to Ethernet connectivity and IP/MPLS VPN services accessed over Ethernet. Carrier comments suggest customers typically are asking for greater bandwidth and more performance for the same price that they have been used to paying.

As the Ethernet market has matured, it has become more challenging for service providers to differentiate themselves and truly offer something new. Low latency services continue to be a point of differentiation in the market, but there was some speculation at the show that the differentiation value of low latency offerings may diminish over time.

Many service providers have retooled their marketing pitches to emphasize cloud-based applications in the context of hybrid services that include a mix of dedicated and virtualized solutions. As Verizon Business's Jeff Schwartz and others noted, the industry generally is moving toward an Ethernet-enabled cloud-based ecosystem in which "everything is a service" and business applications can be dialed-up essentially on-demand.

Senior experts from many network operators emphasized that the carrier community is eagerly awaiting 100G and 100GE technology that is both generally available and affordable. Demand for 100G and 100GE technology is clearly growing, but feedback from operators suggests we are unlikely to see significant strategic deployments of the technology until 2012 or later, due largely to cost concerns.

Carrier Ethernet Service & Technology Trends & Issues: Europe costs $3,995 and is published in PDF format. The price includes an enterprise license covering all of the employees at the purchaser's company.

For more information, or to request a free executive summary, contact:

Dave Williams
Sales Director, Heavy Reading
858-485-8870
[email protected]

Press/analyst contact:

Jennifer Baker
Marketing Director, Light Reading Communications Network
617-871-1910
[email protected]

About Heavy Reading

Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com) is an independent research organization offering deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators, technology suppliers, and investors. Its product portfolio includes in-depth reports that address critical next-generation technology and service issues, market trackers that focus on the telecom industry's most critical technology sectors, exclusive worldwide surveys of network operator decision-makers that identify future purchasing and deployment plans, and a rich array of custom and consulting services that give clients the market intelligence needed to compete successfully in the $4 trillion global telecom industry. As a telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network (www.lrcn.com), Heavy Reading contributes to the only integrated business information platform serving the global communications industry.

About Light Reading Communications Network

The Light Reading Communications Network combines the most trusted telecom research brands with award-winning online communities and a rich events portfolio to deliver the only integrated business information platform serving the $4 trillion global communications industry.  With the power of this platform, leaders who build, deploy, finance, and regulate next-generation telecom networks are able to make more informed decisions on emerging market and service opportunities.

For more information, visit any of the Light Reading Communications Network's Web sites:

www.lightreading.com
www.heavyreading.com
www.pyramidresearch.com

SOURCE Heavy Reading