Ethernet over fiber, for all its utility as a business service for larger enterprises, is great if you’re near a fiber. However, if you’re a business in a smaller building where the nearest fiber may be miles away, you’re out of luck.

Only an estimated 13.4 percent of smaller businesses actually have access to fiber, leaving an estimated 86.6 percent of buildings with 20 or more employees without fiber facilities.

But Zhone Technologies thinks the answer may be as easy as using the existing copper lines already present in that same building. To target the burgeoning Ethernet over Copper (EoC) service opportunity, Zhone has introduced a new series of platforms for its EFM and EoC product portfolio.

Erin Dunne, director of research services for Vertical Systems Group believes the new platforms illustrate that Zhone is covering its bases to address various flavors of EoC.

“I think their approach is somewhat unique in that they are addressing the Ethernet over Copper via SHDSL.bis, via SHDSL and via TDM technology,” said “Most of the companies in this space tend to focus on one of the other technologies, but you don’t see it that often.”

Closing the speed gap

Despite the popularity of Ethernet, the reality is legacy ATM, FR and private line services over T1 circuits are still the dominant enterprise networking technologies. According to research from Vertical Systems Group, 1.4 million US business sites use T1, while 1.6 million use fractional T1.

At the same time, these same customers are clamoring for higher bandwidth pipes where a 2 or 5 Mbps connection would suffice, but their options for Ethernet are constrained to the 10 Mbps fiber-based entry point.

The 10 Mbps Ethernet entry point creates what Vertical Systems calls a ‘Speed Gap’ that prevents these same customers to make the migration to Ethernet.

Dunne believes that Zhone’s product could help close that speed gap.

“They seem to be focused on a good part of the network and a good part of the customer base which is really being aware of the migration aspects because the Ethernet over copper market is a migration market,” she said. “Their gear is designed in because they have a legacy history. They are focusing on being able to enable the carrier to do some quick and easy migration from Frame to Ethernet over copper or something else.”

“Because of the history of their company, [Zhone] is in the product groups already for a lot of these carriers,” Dunne said. “There’s awareness within the carrier community, so being able to slide some of these products into the carriers should be a manageable task.”

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