Virtual network operator (VNO) Vanco expanded its managed services last week with the introduction of a new wide area Ethernet option, while rival Sirocom announced a shared network aimed specifically at retail and leisure companies.

Ethernet Engaged is the latest addition to Vanco’s Data Service portfolio, and will be promoted as a lower-cost, higher-capacity alternative to E3 or STM1 leased lines for connecting datacentres and large offices across national boundaries.

Ciaran Roche, Vanco’s lead technical consultant, believes connecting offices to MPLS backbones via 100Mbit/s Ethernet can be 25 to 30 percent cheaper than using leased lines, although the availability of last-mile fibre Ethernet connectivity varies considerably from country to country and city to city. “Some clients can save money, but more often they are specifically doing it to get more bandwidth without increasing the cost,” he said.

In separate news, rival VNO Sirocom has launched its retail application network (RAN), designed specifically to handle electronic point of sale (EPoS) and credit card transactions within and between retail locations.

The firm said sharing a managed broadband service with other retailers lowers capital expenditure and operating expenditure for customers, while providing faster resolution of EPoS problems and upgrades.

“If a firm has 300 UK branches, that network may be made up of four to five business-grade broadband providers. If we bring them together, so they have common interfaces and IP streaming, total cost of ownership is reduced by about 20 percent,” said Sirocom CTO Dave MacFarland.

‹ www.vanco.com ‹ www.sirocom.com