Feb, 2002 : Allegiance Telecom Announces IP Aggregation Service

📅 February 5, 2002 - Allegiance Telecom, Inc. (algx.com), a facilities-basedintegrated communications provider, announced yesterday an IP aggregationservice that allows service providers, enterprise networks and other largecustomers to expand in existing markets and move into new markets withminimal costs.

Service providers and enterprise network managers can aggregate IP trafficat a single point of access into the network and distribute in any ofAllegiance Telecom's 36 U.S. markets. This makes IP Aggregation attractiveto local and regional service providers looking to expand their marketreach, the company says. The Allegiance Telecom T1-based services haveenhanced reliability and performance backed up by service level agreements.
Historically, network planners desiring to expand their market reach wouldbuild a point of presence in each market in order to sell services. Localloops were purchased from the incumbent carrier while leasing long haulnetwork services and Internet transit from one of the major carriers. WithAllegiance Telecom's IP Aggregation service, service providers can minimizethe up front capital and network expense that is typically needed beforeever acquiring initial customers.
"Our IP Aggregation product offers any IP centric service provider orenterprise network operator a secure and scalable, low cost solution to getIP access in any of Allegiance's markets," said Chris Malinowski, seniorvice president of strategic sales for Allegiance Telecom. "This is a virtualprivate network with predictable costs that minimizes up front capitalexpenditure."
The incumbent local exchange carriers typically charge for T1 local loopservices based on the distance from the end user to the service provider'sPOP, making it more difficult to predict costs. Allegiance pricing for thisservice is a flat rate in each market, enabling the network manager to havefixed price services which include both the local loop and IP access.Pricing may be discounted based on term and volume commitments and whetheror not the customer has interconnected with Allegiance in that specificmarket or not.
Allegiance Telecom recently completed the construction of its 36-citynetwork with nearly 800 central office colocations.
Earlier this year, Allegiance Telecom announced its purchase ofsubstantially all of the assets of Intermedia Business Internet (the formerDigex.net) from WorldCom, Inc. This acquisition, along with recentenhancements, allows Allegiance Telecom to benefit from a scale Tier 1Internet backbone. The IP Aggregation service is one of several upcomingproducts that Allegiance will be launching that take advantage of this nextgeneration IP backbone.