Truly Converged Access ...

Sometimes I think I should create a food diary to remember everything I cook. Not just the recipes but each idea for a new dish. Friday I made croque monsieurs with wavy/ridged French fries using a mandolin. I made them the way I first had them in Sweden, open-faced with lots of cheese. My variation did use smoked chicken instead of ham, but the overall taste was spot on. Saturday, I made a breakfast tart layering toasted sourdough bread with a schmear of cream cheese, thin sheet of cooked beaten egg, smoked salmon and sprinkled with fresh dill. I made veal Milanese served with pasta and a marinara sauce. Veal Milanese is essentially a breaded and fried veal cutlet without a sauce. I used oregano, basil and marjoram as the key herbs to convey Italy. I also strayed from the usual breading process to one I prefer; flour coating, buttermilk dip and panko crust. The marinara sauce is one that I have shared with you previously and well worth making. Finally, Sunday was grilled New York strips with baked potatoes. I did not let the all day rain dissuade me from grilling. And the recipe of the week is … Clam Chowder. I promised to share it with you before Thanksgiving and got distracted with creating a dessert and brandied cranberries. If you recall, I made this using Pacific Northwest Razor clams, which were the most tender flavorful clams I have ever eaten. Anyway, New England style Clam Chowder, enjoy!

Truly Converged Access ...

Metro Ethernet is rapidly replacing T1s as the preferred method for attaining convergence. Once available only in isolated islands across the U.S., metro Ethernet is being deployed by multiple carriers nationwide. It is estimated that over $150 billion has been invested in this network capability. Metro Ethernet is cheaper that installing a T1 or multiple Ts and it better fits an existing business infrastructure. Moreover, metro Ethernet can be provisioned in a greater range of bandwidths from the standard Ethernet at 10 Mbps, to Fast Ethernet at 100 Mbps, Gigabit Ethernet at 1000 Mbps and even 10 GigE at 10,000 Mbps. T1s basically top out at 12 Mbps.

In addition to the individual carrier rollouts of metro Ethernet, the Metro Ethernet Forum assures interconnect across carrier networks to accomplish its mission of “worldwide adoption of Carrier-class Ethernet networks and services." Qualifying for metro Ethernet should be as common as qualifying an address for a T1 or PRI. Broadvox frequently quotes both metro Ethernet and the traditional T1 when both are available.

Key benefits summary:

• Requires no changes to customer LAN equipment and accommodates existing connectivity such as, time-sensitive, TDM traffic and signaling
• Ideal for converged voice, video and data networks
• Greater granularity of bandwidth

Contact your carrier today to see if metro Ethernet should be added to your product portfolio.

David Byrd is vice president of marketing and sales for Broadvox , and is responsible for marketing and channel sales programs to SMBs, enterprises and carriers as well as defining the product offering. Prior to joining Broadvox, David was the vice president of Channels and Alliances for Eftia and Telcordia. As director of eBusiness Development with i2 Technologies, he developed major partnerships with many of the leaders in Internet eCommerce and supply chain management. As CEO of Planet Hollywood Online he was a pioneer in using early Internet technologies to build a branded entertainment and eCommerce website company partnered with Planet Hollywood. Having over 20 years of telecom sales and marketing experience, he has held executive positions with Hewlett-Packard, Sprint and Ericsson.