Aleron offers both wholesale dedicated and dialup access, with a focus on flexibility and attention to detail.

by Jeff Goldman [September 22, 2004]

Aleron was initially founded in late 2000 by executives from Teleglobe, with the aim of creating a global provider of next generation IP backbone services. In 2001, the company purchased the assets of the dialup provider Telia Internet Inc., which led to its entry into the wholesale dialup business.

The following year, however, the company filed for bankruptcy. In May of 2002, Aleron was acquired by PowerNet Global, and is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of that long distance reseller. "We're owned by them, but we operate independently—we run a multiple OC-48 MPLS-enabled backbone across the United States as well as a dialup platform," says Juan Font, Vice President of Sales for Aleron.

Aleron	866-4-ALERON

Dialup access technology, Font says, is pretty much the same for everybody—it's Aleron's technical expertise that makes the difference. "Everybody can buy a softswitch, everybody can get the same routers," he says. "Where we stand out is the fact that we have a very robust team of engineers in operations."

That expertise has a direct effect on an ISP's experience in working with Aleron. "We have an outstanding NOC that really gives us an edge in terms of troubleshooting, foreseeing problems, and keeping very open channels with our customers," Font says. "Our NOC is not a call center. All of the guys in the NOC are able to configure a router or a RAS, turn up or turn down a customer, and do multiple things—and I think customers like that sort of direct, personal care."

Managed and dedicated
Aleron's managed modem services can be purchased hourly, by port, or by subscriber, and its dedicated offering includes any port size up to OC-48. The company's dialup network, Font says, includes some key strengths in terms of coverage. "We have particularly good coverage in Florida and in some of the Midwest markets," he says. "We're also engaged in a constant effort to expand our coverage. I think one of the key differentiators is being able to deploy into Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets—Tier 1 is pretty much covered by everybody else."

Font says the company serves a wide range of customers, from larger ISPs that include Aleron as one of nine or ten different providers to regional ISPs that just use one or two. Smaller ISPs that come to Aleron, Font says, get referred to the company's aggregator partners—which include CDialupUSA and CISP. "It's more their business model to serve the smaller ISPs," he says.

According to Font, the company's network architecture fits well with most ISPs' needs. "Our points of presence are close to the aggregation points of the Internet," he says. "It's a very unique model. With somebody like Qwest that might have 500 POPs, you're going to go through multiple router hops to reach your end destination. We try to cut the time that it takes the customer to reach the content on the Internet."

When seeking wholesale dialup, Font says, it's important for any ISP to look for diversification. "I wouldn't mean to suggest that we should be the only provider for a large ISP, but we certainly fit into the mix," he says. "Our footprint, our quality, and our pricing make us competitive. It's very difficult to differentiate beyond that, but the number of players that can compete at our level is limited."

Attention to detail
Tom Palmer is Senior Manager of ISP and Network Operations for PeoplePC, a division of EarthLink. PeoplePC began working with Telia in 2001, and continued to work with the company after it was acquired by Aleron. The network coverage, Palmer says, is one of Aleron's greatest strengths. "They've got a wide scope of locations nationwide, and they've been really flexible," he says. "They're definitely a smaller player, but they've got really good support—and as we grow, they've been able to grow with us."

Aleron's size, Palmer says, makes them easy to work with, especially when it comes to building out into new areas. In one problematic area where PeoplePC needed coverage, Palmer says Aleron was able to get a POP deployed in 2002 before any of the company's other providers could do so. "The thing you get with Aleron is flexibility, both in getting new POPs and in support," Palmer says.

Finally, Palmer says Aleron's technical support is more detailed and thorough than that of larger providers. "Say there's a POP in Los Angeles that has a certain problem," he says. "They'll actually bring reports back to us in detail, saying, 'It was this user, this user, and this user, and it was an outage in this part of LA.' Some of the larger guys may say, 'Well, we're not sure, we think there was an outage in LA, and it looks like it's cleared.' They go right into the detail of where the problem is, narrow it down, and get it resolved."

— End

Related articles:
	[May 20, 2002]	PowerNet Global Acquires Aleron
	[March 16, 2001]	Va-Va-VISP
	[Nov. 27, 2000]	How to Pick A Wholesale Access Provider

Online resource:
	Wholesale Dialup Directory