Telecom Ramblings

RCN Metro, the metro fiber division of RCN Corp (NASDAQ:RCNI - chart, news, filings), has decided to join the growing Ethernet exchange movement.  Which exchange, you ask?  Why all of them of course!  In New York and Chicago, RCN Metro is adding connections to the exchanges operated by Equinix, CENX, and Neutral Tandem, and possibly other companies and markets as well in the future.  

By doing this, RCN Metro can offer bandwidths from 1 Mbps to 10 Gbps connecting the 1500 or so high bandwidth on-net buildings in its footprint to both domestic an international customers.  Of course, they might also be able to go off-net a bit easier as well, but they do tend to focus on on-net customers.

Obviously, RCN Metro has decided not to miss the boat on this, and I expect that as these exchanges achieve scale we will see many other small and medium size bandwidth providers follow them.  Such companies have little to lose and everything to gain with such efforts.