AT&T has launched a tool for wholesale customers to qualify Ethernet-based services.
Automating a previously manual process, service providers using the tool can check the availability and speed of select Ethernet-based services by address, in near real time. Once the function is part of a wholesale customer’s internal ecosystem (the tool combines two AT&T APIs), they input an address – or list of addresses – and hit enter.
“We’re bringing much needed innovation and agility to wholesale customers,” said Brendan Floyd, vice president of Wholesale Solutions for AT&T. “We’re making it as easy as possible for service providers to help their customers move from legacy services to transformative technologies like 100-Gigabit Ethernet and AT&T Switched Ethernet Broadband Port.”
“We closely followed the MEF’s new framework to deliver an API flow – one that lets our wholesale customers validate AT&T Switched Ethernet services within our 21-state footprint,” said Mike Lesher, executive director, Product Marketing Management, AT&T. “The tool’s capabilities are leaps and bounds ahead of the manual process the industry is currently accustomed to.”
“Giving one service provider immediate visibility into another service provider’s footprint using the MEF’s LSO model is an industry-leading development,” said Pascal Menezes, CTO at MEF. “For service providers, think about what this means for the experience you can deliver to your customers. The on-demand ability to qualify Ethernet service availability and speeds will help you take a more efficient and surgical approach as you migrate your customers to modern-day services while becoming more responsive to their needs.”
Birch Communications joined the pilot program to test it in December 2015.
“We worked hand-in-hand with AT&T to plug the tool into our systems and to create an interface that would help us determine availability from it. The development was low-cost, quick and easy,” said David Gibson, vice president of business development at Birch. “Our customer experience is a top priority for Birch. We need to be able to quote service availability quickly and ultimately integrate our backend systems for expedited service delivery. Additionally, we have worked to integrate this technology with tools we provide our channel partners, allowing those who sell for us to better serve our customers. In today’s fast-paced business environment, innovations like this are critical to our organic growth plan.”
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