Verizon Business Tuesday announced that it had boosted its Metro Ethernet coverage by integrating its fiber Ethernet network into its optical metro network.

Alla Reznik, Verizon Business' group manager of Ethernet marketing, says that recent technological advancements in Verizon's next-generation SONET have allowed the company to allow traffic to flow "seamlessly" from its fiber-based Metro Ethernet networks to its traditional optical metro networks. According to Verizon, the NG SONET enhancements will allow any customer that can get service through Verizon's fiber-optic network in 53 metro markets to link directly to new locations via Ethernet.

Reznik says that the SONET enhancement and its ability to connect optical network customers to Ethernet is a big-money saver for businesses. In particular, she says that because the enhancement will let customers get Ethernet connections wherever its metro optical networks are available, it eliminates the need for Inter-Office Facilities charges, as well as the need to build costly new fiber extensions for new locations.

"Let's say that there's a local bank that has 10 locations that use Metro Ethernet in one particular metro area, and is expanding and moving its headquarters to a new location," Reznik says. "And for that spec location, they'd like to have an optical network that they feel is more reliable. With this advancement… we can integrate that optical network seamlessly with the other fiber Ethernet networks."

Earlier this year, Verizon said it was planning several aggressive upgrades to its network, including converting all of its rings to optical mesh technology, which the company says will give it the ability to more quickly restore services during outages, and it is planning to deploy 100Gbps capability over all of its major routes at the start of 2009.