Allegiance Telecom's IP Aggregation service allows ISPs to obtain a presence in U.S. markets without dishing out the cash for the equipment and connections for a whole new Point of Presence (POP).

by Wayne Kawamoto [February 11, 2002]

Allegiance Telecom, Inc., a facilities-based integrated communications provider, announced its IP Aggregation service that promises to help service providers, enterprise networks and other customers expand in their existing markets and move into new markets with minimal capital costs.

According to the company, a service provider can aggregate IP traffic at a single point of access into the network and distribute it in any of Allegiance Telecom's 36 U.S. markets. This may make IP Aggregation particularly attractive to local and regional service providers who are looking to expand their markets. Allegiance Telecom says that it recently completed the construction of its 36-city network with nearly 800 central office collocations.

Allegiance says that historically, network planners who wanted to expand their markets' reach had to build a point of presence (POP) in each market to sell services. Also, local loops had to be purchased from incumbent carriers, and long haul network services and Internet transit had to be leased from major carriers. With Allegiance Telecom's IP Aggregation service, service providers may be able to minimize this up front capital and network expense that is needed before they can acquire initial customers. Also, while some service providers have inked similar deals with DSL companies, Allegiance claims that its Telecom T1 based services are based on tried and true technologies and offer enhanced reliability and performance that are backed by service level agreements.

"Our IP Aggregation product offers any IP centric service provider or enterprise network operator a secure and scalable, low cost solution to get IP access in any of Allegiance's markets," said Chris Malinowski, senior vice president of strategic sales for Allegiance Telecom. "This is a virtual private network with predictable costs that minimizes up front capital expenditure."

Allegiance Telecom is now fully operational in 36 U.S. markets including: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth, Houston, Long Island, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Northern New Jersey, Oakland, Ontario/Riverside CA, Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tampa, Washington D.C., West Palm Beach/Boca Raton FL, and White Plains, NY.

Pricing
The IP Aggregation service is available now. Pricing is a flat rate in each market and may be discounted based on term and volume commitments and whether or not the customer has interconnected with Allegiance in specific markets.

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