DSLnetworks, Level3 Partner For End-to-End Connectivity

DSLnetworks (www.dslnetworks.com) and Level 3 Communications Inc. (www.level3.com) have formed an alliance that will combine DSL-based last mile connections and Internet backbone services for ISPs, ASPs and other service providers. DSLnetworks will provide high-speed Internet access via DSL to end-users, while Level 3 will provide its recently launched (3)CrossRoads transport service, which offers destination sensitive billing.

"We recognized that to fully utilize our backbone, we'd need strategic partners with distributed broadband networks," says Geoff Jordan, Level 3's director of global strategic alliances.

The service, when launched within the next two months, will be branded by DSLnetworks. "They own the customer," says Jordan. However, he notes that it is also important for Level 3 to steer its existing ISP customers to DSLnetworks, so they can benefit from the end-to-end offering.

Under the three-year agreement, DSLnetworks will pay Level 3 approximately $35 million for its transport services.

DSLnetworks, which aggregates DSL lines from DLECs such as Covad Communications Co. (www.covad.com), NorthPoint Communications Group Inc. (www.northpoint.net) and Rhythms NetConnections Inc. (www.rhythms.net), as well as the incumbent telcos, already has equipment collocated in Level 3's Los Angeles gateway. From there, the DSLnetworks will rollout a pilot of its offering within the next 30 to 60 days, says Brad Connors, DSLnetworks president and CEO.

Following a successful pilot, DSLnetworks plans to collocate its equipment in five other Level 3 gateways, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. Using Level 3's (3)CrossRoads platform, DSLnetworks will be able to establish virtual connections to all of the other Level 3 Internet gateways.

Initially ISPs and companies providing hosted applications will be ideal candidates for the service. However, Connors says that many smaller CLECs seeking coverage outside their regional territories may also find the offering attractive.

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