Carrier Ethernet shows it’s still hot at TIA 2011 in Dallas

The TIA is back in the live event business with a new event called “TIA 2011: Inside the Network.”

And I’m here in Grapevine, TX, just outside Dallas, soaking it all in and looking for signs of intelligent Carrier Ethernet life. With this new event, TIA has the chance to cast away its old baggage and the ghosts of SuperComm-GlobalComm-NexComm-WhateverComm past.

Despite a few hiccups that may have only been evident from my perspective as a vendor/sponsor, I must say this event has certainly managed to attract an amazing array of speakers – and not just for those high-powered Keynote addresses. We’re talking U.S. Congress members, the FCC Commissioner, policy advisors to various government subcommittees, and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson.  Executives from ATT, Verizon, Google, Turner Broadcasting, Windstream, XO Communication, Paetec, Zayo, and a host of others rounded out the impressive list of presenters.

Of course, not all of these fine folks were there to talk about how Carrier Ethernet is the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, the first two days offered plenty of action where Carrier Ethernet junkies like me can get their fix.

In a pre-conference Carrier Ethernet workshop sponsored by the MEF, representatives from member companies shared technical tutorials on its Carrier Ethernet standards work. The workshop also focused on issues facing service providers who are interconnecting to one another and who are working to deliver mobile backhaul services. With a nearly full room, the dialog was engaging and highly interactive.

Carrier Ethernet also featured prominently in the “Converged Networks” educational track. Service providers DukeNet and XO communications shared success stories about using Carrier Ethernet in mobile backhaul and for business services, respectively. In XO communications’ session, Mark McDonald of Overture Networks (my own company) gave a first look at the results of the Overture Carrier Ethernet News survey on “what it will take for Carrier Ethernet to displace SONET/SDH at the network edge.”  This session also stimulated a dynamic, two-way discussion between the presenters and audience in a standing-room only conference room.

So after the first two days, it’s clear that Carrier Ethernet has proven itself an integral part of the telecommunications agenda and continues to be top-of-mind with the service providers and solutions vendors at this inaugural TIA event.

D. Mark Durrett is Director of Marketing for Overture Networks