[Hidden-tech] Try Crocker (instead of Verizon)!

[Matthew Crocker]

Hello,

  I just subscribed to this list so I'm kinda jumping into the middle of 
this conversation.  I would be more than happy to answer any questions 
people may have about our network.  Our network is undergoing a HUGE 
expansion now.  Our CLEC build out is gaining steam.

I appreciate all of the kind words people have said about our service.  
We do strive to provide the best service and support in the valley,  We 
aren't perfect but the advantage of using a local company is you can 
call me directly and/or stop by if you have a complaint.

We are building a Gigabit fiber backbone up the Valley.  We'll have 
nodes in Springfield, Northampton and Greenfield by June.  The fiber 
from Springfield to Northampton uses FiberTech and never touches 
Verizon until it gets to the Central Office.  The fiber from Greenfield 
to Northampton is on Verizon because Verizon is the *only* fiber 
provider in Greenfield.

We have 115mbps of Internet bandwidth in Springfield from 3 different, 
diverse suppliers (Sprint, Cogent, GlobalNAPs).  We currently peak at 
30mbps on our Internet bandwidth

We have a 45mbps ATM circuit to Verizon for our DSL customers. We 
currently peak that circuit at 12mbps.

Essentially we have 0 contention anywhere on our network, our core is 
running with Gigabit Ethernet.  Our core router (Cisco 12000) is 
capable of handling 2.5gbps on every card.  We have plenty of room to 
grow.

We currently match the published Verizon Business DSL pricing.  If you 
add up their extra services (spam protected e-mail) we are actually 
quite a bit less than Verizon Online for Business DSL.

VOL sells Residential DSL below their cost right now in an attempt to 
cut Comcast/Charter off at the knees.  I don't know how long they can 
continue to do that.  We sell our Residential DSL at a *very* slight 
margin.  I truly believe we provide a superior product and service for 
that extra $10.

Our new network will allow us to provide some unique service offerings 
such as LAN extension service, and Metro Ethernet.  We can, for example 
pickup an Ethernet VLAN trunk (802.1q) from a customer in Greenfield 
and deliver it to their other offices in Northampton, Amherst and 
Springfield.  We will also start offering SHDSL (2.3mbps full duplex) 
and ADSL2+ (24mbps) in Northampton and Greenfield over the summer.  We 
can bind multiple circuits together (4 x T1 = 6mbps, 4 x SDHSL = 
9.2mbps).

We can also run our own cable down the street, it would take a strong 
business case to justify a fiber run but it is possible if the numbers 
work.

I'm currently looking at wireless solutions for the hilltowns.  I can 
deliver N x T1 circuits off our core network to a wireless AP and serve 
30 houses for about $40/month per house.  I can do this just about 
anywhere in the valley.  I'll need clear line of sight in the 
neighborhood.  I may need to borrow a roof for the antenna. I can do 
smaller neighborhoods but the price per house would increase.

Our network is state of the art 'carrier grade'.  We are built for high 
speed IP services.

With Verizon/Verizon Online you are a very small fish in a very big 
ocean. If you want/need rubber stamp, henry ford Internet Access they 
are a choice.  If you need a little bit more, some customization, 
better service then give us a call.

I don't want this to sound like a sales pitch,  if you want to e-mail 
me off-list please feel free to do so.

If you want a detailed 'geek' explanation of our network I would be 
happy to do that as well.

Thanks for your time

-Matt

--
Matthew S. Crocker
Crocker Communications, Inc.
Vice President
PO BOX 710
Greenfield, MA 01302

P: 413-746-2760
F: 413-746-3704
W: http://www.crocker.com
E: matthew at crocker.com