Verizon Reaches OutVerizon Reaches Out

Businesses will have yet another choice for their wide-area data requirements. Verizon Communications Inc. says it plans to offer network management, storage, disaster recovery, security, remote access, and voice and data networking within and between its local service areas.

It won't be a fast process, though. Plans to connect Verizon's local service areas and expand nationwide will take up to two years. The carrier initially will offer its Enterprise Advance services to customers in the I-95 corridor, from Boston to Virginia in the Northeast. After that, it will build an IP backbone to connect its local services in Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Tampa, Fla. Verizon has regulatory approval to offer long-distance services to the majority of its region, serving 90% of its customers. The FCC will decide on the remaining areas early next year.

So why not just buy an existing long-distance carrier, such as WorldCom or AT&T? "We can build it better and faster than we can buy someone else's legacy network," says Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, adding that such a move would add two to three years of integration time. "This is an extension of our existing business. We see no need for any acquisitions." Verizon, which already has networking equipment in 67 of the top 100 U.S. markets, will lease bandwidth to interconnect its markets.

Building its own nationwide network using unused optical fiber leased from other carriers will result in "a cleaner network that's easier to build and manage," says Christin Flynn, director of communications network infrastructure at Yankee Group.

Verizon faces a tough challenge entering an already crowded field in the market for long-distance business services. But it has built strong relationships with large customers, Flynn says. "I think it will be a threat," she says. Businesses typically like dealing with a minimum of two carriers for diversification, so Verizon's lack of coverage in certain areas won't necessarily detract IT managers from using its services.