June 2010 Newsletter

Convergence Connections

Sprint's Ethernet Access is on the March

Ethernet access to Sprint Global MPLS and Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) is becoming more available in more places every day, as Sprint continues aggressive expansion and broadening of the service both in the U.S. and internationally. By the end of this year, expanded service is expected to be available in 39 major U.S. markets, bringing the benefits of converged access to enterprises of all sizes.

With Sprint's Ethernet access, broadband speeds of 2 Mbps to 1 Gbps are only the beginning. Sprint is the single point of contact for a complete and comprehensive solution. We coordinate all aspects of the implementation and provide network and customer-specific service level agreements.

The solution is seamless, taking advantage of existing LAN technology, and offers the opportunity for an enterprise to lower its costs for equipment and in many cases the costs of the circuits themselves, when compared with legacy TDM access.

The latest phase of our Ethernet access expansion is nearly complete, bringing greatly expanded service to markets such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Francisco, Houston, Washington, D.C., Sacramento, Kansas City, and Detroit. On top of that, we are launching service in four new markets, in northern and central New Jersey, Baltimore, and Stockton, California.

Later this year, Sprint will bring Ethernet access to 11 new markets, with market expansion in five currently served markets. The new markets are San Diego, St. Louis, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Columbus, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Providence, Richmond, Connecticut, and Tulsa. Service expansions will be in Boston, Philadelphia, Tampa-Sarasota, Austin, and San Antonio. Internationally, Sprint Ethernet access is available in 35 countries.

The ever-broadening sphere of Ethernet access reflects Sprint's commitment to the delivery of robust IP networking capabilities to businesses. Sprint's convergence and workplace connectivity solutions bring incredible value to businesses, with faster, more flexible, and more reliable performance. By taking advantage of the convergence expertise that Sprint offers, enterprises can streamline their infrastructures and deploy solutions that are guaranteed to deliver a seamless user experience.


Learn more about Ethernet access and other Sprint Converged Solutions at sprint.com/convergence.


Read more about Ethernet access and IPv6 on the Seamless Enterprise. 
Painlessly Evolving to IPv6
With the inevitable transition to IPv6, the newest version of Internet addresses, Sprint has carefully paved the way so that companies can make the transition as painlessly as possible.

This transition has been more than a decade in coming, as it was clear even in the late 1990s that the 32-bit addressing structure of the current IPv4 would run out of available addresses eventually. The growth in Internet-connected devices, from mobile phones to machine-to-machine communications, has sharply increased the demand for IP addresses and shortened the anticipated lifetime of IPv4.

Sprint has been actively involved in standardization, testing, and deployment of IPv6, and we have offered IPv6 services on our Peerless IP network since 2006. Since 1997, Sprint has supported an IPv6 testbed to gain expertise with the new protocol and offer prototype service to early adopters.

The new IPv6 uses 128-bit addressing, allowing an almost unlimited number of addresses for each individual on the planet. This leap forward in addressing capacity requires a carefully planned transition, and Sprint is making it easier with several phases of implementations and deployments.

The first phase of deployment for large businesses and wholesale partners has been rolled out on the Sprint domestic Internet backbone. IPv6 rollout on our international Internet backbone is scheduled for deployment by the end of this year. Sprint's strategy for IPv6 support is to use a native dual-stack solution that enables customers to use both protocols as IPv4 addresses are exhausted. This ensures a smooth transition to IPv6.

Sprint has plans to begin extending IPv6 support to our Global MPLS Layer 3 VPN network in 2011 and to our wireless network in early 2012.

Changes of this significance can take time and planning for companies and organizations, and Sprint will be there to help customers preserve their critical Internet connections and continue to communicate seamlessly.