Mark Durrett

Note: this article was adapted from one originally published in Carrier Ethernet News

COMPTEL PLUS, the annual gathering of competitive carriers and their ecosystem, took place this week in Las Vegas at the Aria Resort and Casino.  As is usually the case at this well-orchestrated event, there were ample opportunities for networking and education on topics ranging from regulatory issues facing the carriers to Carrier Ethernet and Software Defined Networking.

[This article originally appeared in a FierceTelecom eBook]

Today’s business applications depend on IP and Ethernet protocols, and Carrier Ethernet has emerged as the wide area network (WAN) technology of choice for enterprise access. Whether used for dedicated Internet access, connections to private cloud applications or virtual private networks, Carrier Ethernet promises an efficient, simple, scalable and cost-effective solution.  Vertical Systems Group projects worldwide Ethernet for business applications will grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 18% through 2015.

[This article originally appeared in Carrier Ethernet News]

The who’s who of Carrier Ethernet Europe gathered last week in Munich for the annual Light Reading Ethernet Europe.  Collocated with the MEF’s quarterly members’ meeting, this year’s event lived up to its billing as the premier Carrier Ethernet event in EMEA.

My schedule only allowed for a couple of brief visits into town which naturally included the requisite visit to the legendary Hofbrauhaus, for a few um-pa-pa’s, a very large stein of beer and some rockin’ pretzels.   

But the real highlight of the week was Carrier Ethernet.  In this post, I’ll recap a few highlights from the event.

The conference sessions at this year’s Metro Connect in Miami had a great mix of speakers and topics ranging from regulatory issues to mergers and acquisitions to basic business and technical challenges facing service providers and metro operators as they interconnect with each other.  For our company, it was our first year sponsoring and exhibiting.  Last year, we audited the event and came away believing Metro Connect was one of those rare “must do” events due to the promise of meeting with so many top executives throughout the industry.

It has been a whirlwind week in New York for Light Reading’s Ethernet Expo event.  My company, Overture Networks, was there in force to meet with dozens of customers and partners at what has easily become the largest Carrier Ethernet focused event in North America.