Synchronous Optical Network Services

Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) Services is a highly reliable solution that offers wide-ranging fiber optic synchronous transmission rates (from 51.84 Mbps to beyond 13.27 Gbps). For customers who need a survivable communications infra-structure for their mission-critical applications, SONET provides proactive performance monitoring that prevents single and multiple failures, and further enables self-healing functions and robust network management.

• Partnership with a Proven SONET Leader. Verizon has chosen Level 3 to provide SONET Services. This wide range in turn supports interoperability between service delivery points for voice, data, video, multimedia and IP applications, as well as access to government-wide Intranets and Extranets.
• Next-Generation Network. The Level 3 network has received many industry awards. Level 3 built it from the ground up, basing it on strict industry standards to maintain quality and consistency. The backbone is OC-192 (10 Gbps) using Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology, connecting Points of Presence (POPs) in established cities across the U.S. and beyond. This network protects customers against loss of service with its full fiber and electronic redundancies, multiple entrance facilities, physically diverse fiber paths, automatic protection switching, and 1+1 equipment protection.

Verizon SONET Services boast features that can dramatically simplify customer communications, including:

• Standards-Based Scalability. With intelligent switching and DWDM equipment, coupled with comprehensive back office support systems and software, Verizon provides standards-based, scalable transport to keep pace with the rapid growth of customer traffic.
• Reliability. In the event of a fiber cut or equipment failure, Verizon SONET Services provide restoration capabilities in milliseconds. This results in exceptional operational reliability, performance, efficiency, savings and connectivity.
• Transport Diversity for Lower Risk. Customers can select transport diversity and transport avoidance options, to ensure that mission-critical applications are transported reliably, with a lower risk of service outages. Transport Diversity enables customers to stipulate circuit requirements for route, POPs, switches, cards, and third party carrier diversity. Transport Avoidance ensures that customer requirements for path avoidance are strictly enforced.
• High Availability Ring/Mesh Hybrid SONET Topology. Verizon uses SONET rings in metro and regional geographic areas with an intelligent mesh network providing transport over longer distances. This architecture uses ring topology where traffic patterns tend to hub to a small number of locations on the core network. On the core, long haul portions of the network, mesh protection supports the same services with a more distributed traffic pattern and greater physical connectivity. As a result, the network reuses protection bandwidth to significantly lower the cost of providing service.
• Extensive Network for “Wherever, Whenever” Coverage. This extensive network means that Verizon can offer SONET Services to major markets as well as to smaller regional and remote locations. Level 3 owns and operates in excess of 33,000 miles of fiber optic backbone. Local on-net fiber assets include access to 86,000 metro fiber miles, as well as Level 3’s own fiber. In addition to on-net capabilities, Level 3 provides connectivity to 40-plus Competitive Access Providers (CAPs), which increases the potential connectivity to more than 13,500 locations.