XKL, a provider of fiber optic networking, recently announced that it has partnered with INOC, a provider of network operations center (NOC) services, to help dark fiber providers offer managed services to their clients. In particular, they are, through those dark fiber providers, reaching out to enterprise and municipalities that wish to gain better bandwidth for their companies and towns.
INOC offers a number of services such as fiber repair and installation, and it handles a number of optical network frameworks, including gigabit Ethernet and MPLS. It provides these services for clients across the globe and should benefit from access to XKL’s fiber equipment. Hal Baylor, the director of business development at INOC, has more on that:
“INOC has deep expertise in monitoring and managing optical networks,” Baylor said. “Under it all, you need fiber and reliable transport equipment, and we look forward to working more with XKL’s DarkStar systems. The interface is simple and familiar, and the appliances are quick to install and very easy to upgrade. Since we will not only be deploying but also monitoring and supporting the equipment, we need solutions that won’t give us any surprises.”
Baylor makes a good point about how the familiarity of the equipment will make it easier for his company to handle and therefore more predictable as this relationship moves forward. His counterpart at XKL, Chad Lamb, the director of engineering at XKL, commented that the relationship between these two companies has stood for many years. They know each other well, and now they will be able to pass along their combined market expertise and equipment to those business and municipalities that need it most.
Dark fiber providers should also see benefits here, as they will be the direct link from network to enterprise customer. Their own relationships with XKL and INOC will reflect in the type of service they are able to offer their own clients – the end users who will ultimately make use of these networks on a daily basis.
Lamb called INOC’s expertise “unparalleled.” He also reiterated the point that his own company’s optical networking systems work well with INOC’s services. In the end, the relationship here should give end users exactly the type of service and broadband experience they desire – one with fast, reliable network speeds and a community of experts to maintain and repair those networks for the long haul.
Edited by
Kyle Piscioniere
