The world of Ethernet just got a little bigger and more inclusive, with Sprint’s well-received new initiative to expand Ethernet access over our all-IP network.

By the end of the year, Sprint’s Ethernet access will be available in 143 domestic markets and 38 countries (including most European countries, China, India, Canada, Brazil, Poland and Argentina to name a few), as we expand in some markets and add lots of new ones.

Available both for enterprises and Sprint’s wholesale partners, the Ethernet access, delivered over our global MPLS network, reduces the network costs for high-bandwidth locations. At the same time, it simplifies the complexity of maintaining multiple types of technologies.

While the scope of the expansion warrants the news coverage it has received, behind the scenes Sprint has been aggressive for some time about expanding our Ethernet access footprint. We saw what most others saw coming: converging technologies and real-time applications driving an increasingly ravenous hunger for bandwidth.

It varies a bit depending on the market, but Sprint Ethernet offers dedicated and aggregated speeds ranging from 2 Mbps to 1Gbps. For businesses, this translates to a choice among 18 aggregated speeds and 16 dedicated speeds. Even the pickiest company can find a port speed in there that fits their network needs.

Aggregated Ethernet access is designed to provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional TDM access. Dedicated Ethernet access is easily expandable in order to fill specific bandwidth needs, with the options of fixed-rate or fractional (aka burstable) billing.

As Mike Fitz, VP of solutions engineering and converged services, put it, in the quest by companies to reduce costs, simplify networks, and build in flexibility and scalability, “Sprint Ethernet access answers the call.” It provides the bandwidth, speed and assurance businesses need, with strong SLAs, and all-IP delivery.