Easynet scores industry first with EtherStream V

Easynet scores an industry-first with the release of EtherStream V, which bonds ‘fibre to the cabinet’ (FTTC) to give businesses bandwidth of up to 160Mbps. Download speeds of up to 320Mbps will be available within a few months. With a history of pioneering technology in the UK, Easynet was the first to begin Local Loop Unbundling, the first to offer 8Mbps over copper, the first to launch Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) service and the first to launch a 40Mbps version of EFM. EtherStream V fills a gap in the market for high-bandwidth fibre access, backed up with stringent SLAs, at a competitive price.

Bandwidth requirements are growing dramatically year on year due to business drivers such as business-critical applications, the switch to the cloud, the increasing adoption of unified communications, data centralisation and the constant requirement for pushing real-time content to multiple devices. Combining the need for bandwidth growth and increased network performance with a reduction in IT spend is a major challenge. Easynet has developed EtherStream V specifically to help businesses overcome this challenge, delivering cost-effective bandwidth up to 320Mbps downstream and up to 80Mbps upstream.

EtherStream V is being rolled out across the UK over the next 12 months and will be available to around 70% of UK businesses by March 2014. The service is one of a range of access options supported by Easynet’s exclusive service level guarantees.

Simon Hartog of Virtual IT, an Easynet partner, said: “Our customers are asking us for more bandwidth and want the SLAs associated with fibre, but don’t have the budget for it. Etherstream V gives them a great solution. It is bang-on for customers using Virtual IT’s hybrid cloud services and hosted telephony/video conferencing”.

Justin Fielder, Easynet’s CTO, said: “EtherStream V has a well-deserved place in the Easynet hall of fame for industry firsts, and reinforces our reputation as an industry pioneer. It demonstrates the time we take to listen to our partners and customers, to understand their businesses challenges and to quickly deliver products which address these challenges head-on”. He continues, “This is a fantastic opportunity for partners to add to their portfolio a unique, exclusive product, and combine it with their own service wrap, consultancy services and in-depth knowledge of their customers”.