Ethernet-Capable DSLAMs Help Regional ISP Expand

Regional ISP BestWeb is using Net to Net Technologies' IPD12000 to serve T-1 and DSL services to business and residential customers.

by ISP-Planet Staff [February 7, 2003]

BestWeb, a regional ISP based in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., has reduced the overhead of its broadband service by using Ethernet-capable DSLAMs from Net to Net Technologies.

BestWeb has deployed Net to Net's IPD12000 DSLAMs in the following seven central offices: Croton-on-Hudson, Ossining, Mt. Kisco, Carmel, Poughkeepsie, Peekskill, and White Plains.

"We resell Verizon DSL and we wanted to improve the service," said Andrew Dickey, president and founder of BestWeb. "We now have the option of providing the service ourselves instead of using Verizon's DSLAM in the CO."

He says that owning his own DSLAM allowed him to make the following improvements:

1) Quality and control—BestWeb can test the line and make any DSLAM or line card repairs (if there's a problem with a line, the company still must rely on Verizon's repair teams).

2) Cost savings—BestWeb can realize a profit on a smaller number of customers, allowing it to contemplate serving smaller communities.

"We have a sophisticated financial model that tracks what services we have in which CO and helps us determine whether it's worth installing our own equipment there," explained Dickey.

Each DSLAM chassis from Net to Net can accommodate a variety of services. The ISP simply swaps line cards. Net to Net makes separate cards for the following services: ADSL, SDSL, T-1, and IDSL. For backhaul, the DSLAM can use 10/100 Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, T-1, or DS-3 technologies. The financial model details the profit margin of individual services and also the profit margin of each CO as a unit.

BestWeb chose Net to Net DSLAMs to get the added advantage of Ethernet in the provision of T-1 lines. Dickey explained that whereas in the past, with Serial T-1 connections, the CPE had to be a router with a CSU/DSU, which could cost $2,000 or more, Ethernet allows much simpler CPE, lowering costs.

Although BestWeb is a large ISP within New York State, it is not large on a national scale, and many companies should be able to duplicate its positive experience with Net to Net DSLAMs.

BestWeb has about 18,000 dialup users, 4,000 broadband users, and serves about 250 school districts. Although the E-Rate program has received bad publicity recently, Dickey pointed out that potential fraud can be avoided if the school system pays the ISP and then applies to the government for a refund.

The program gives the school system a percentage of its costs, depending on the wealth of the area it serves. Schools are eligible for refunds of up to 90 percent. Dickey admitted that having the school apply for the refund has the added advantage of allowing him to avoid government bureaucracy.

Being able to provide cheaper T-1 service has helped change the business focus of the company. "We're happy with our dialup customers," said Dickey, "but cable is becoming a competitor in that space. Cable does not compete with us in the business world. With these DSLAMs, we can offer customers the benefits of a lower cost structure, and that makes us very competitive. We're finding surging demand from business. A company that did not need a single T-1 line last year may suddenly need two T-1 lines this year. As the price differential between 1.5 Mbps DSL and a T-1 line shrinks, more and more businesses are going straight to a T-1 line without buying DSL first."

He added that his company will stay true to its core values as it grows. The values are: a commitment to customer service, a good network with high throughput, and financial stability. He noted, "perhaps it's crass to say that we don't sell anything unless we can make money on it, but that's how it has to be."

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