BT's quarterly newsletter for industry analysts 
BT in good shape to meet ethernet boom
The global demand for ethernet is rising rapidly and BT Wholesale is well placed to meet the growing needs of its customers.
This was a key message from Steve Best, BT Wholesale director of product management, during his keynote address at the recent Ethernet Expo: Europe 2009 in London.
Best told attendees that the demand for bandwidth is rising dramatically against a backdrop of organisations needing to reduce their costs and improve the efficiency of their communications in tough economic times.
A large number of organisations have infrastructures that have been built up over many years and are struggling to handle the network demands of bandwidth-hungry applications and new business requirements.
"This is where ethernet comes in," said Best. "It provides a top quality, scaleable, end-to-end infrastructure, which is capable of meeting the exacting demands placed on it. UK mobile communications providers already recognise this. That's why we've already taken Wholesale Ethernet orders for around £750 million."
Cost-efficient services
He added: "BT is going further than any other wholesaler today - offering a carrier-grade quality of service and cost-efficient ethernet service from more than 600 UK nodes using our 21st Century Network."
In his address, Best noted that the industry is debating whether internet protocol (IP) is better than ethernet and whether ethernet is going to take over from IP.
"These are the wrong questions to ask because, in BT's 21st Century Network, ethernet and IP will co-exist - complementing each other and meeting different needs."