Chicago--Time Warner Telecom is extending the reach of its network using Ethernet-over-copper technology from Overture Networks, the two companies announced today. In addition, Time Warner Telecom is expanding its IP virtual private network capabilities nationwide, announcing 1 Gb/s capabilities and announcing a new multi-location Ethernet service called Integrated LAN.

The move essentially allows Time Warner Telecom to connect branch or remote offices of its customers, largely medium-sized to large businesses, onto its network without direct connections to its fiber-optic network.

“We have 6185 commercial buildings directly connected to our fiber network,” said Bob Meldrum, senior director of corporate communications and marketing for Time Warner Telecom. “This allows us to deliver services to another 17,000 buildings using the Overture Networks solution.”

For the Meridian School District in Boise, Idaho, for example, 15 locations are on-net and 30 are off-net, but Time Warner Telecom is able to tie them together into a single network and deliver converged services, including metro Ethernet, Ethernet Internet services and voice services.

Ethernet has become the service driver, said Ann Mahoney, vice president of data services for Time Warner Telecom.

“Ethernet drives so much of what we do, it is the underlying capability to deliver converged solutions to customers,” she said. “I can deliver Internet, VoIP, and Layer 2 or Layer 3 VPNs.”

Also this week, Time Warner Telecom announced that it has been named preferred provider of high-performance Internet service for The Quilt’s CIS Project. The Quilt is a group of 23 regional non-profit network aggregators within the U.S. that handle traffic for major colleges and universities as well as public school K-12 networks at the state level. The CIS project is an aggregate purchase of Internet services for economies of scale and savings.

The MPLS-based IP VPN service, now available nationwide, targets enterprises that want to streamline their services by networking locations, regardless of access technologies, onto a fully integrated manageable backbone, Meldrum said. Customers can make changes to network configurations and use dynamic bandwidth allocation to use all available bandwidth for data services when voice channels are not in use.

The Ethernet connectivity service, called Integrated LAN, features data, Internet and integrated voice services for businesses with multiple locations, whether those sites are around a city or across the country. The converged service becomes, in essence, a private network connection among the distributed locations.

Time Warner Telecom is gaining traction in the medium-sized to large enterprise group, Mahoney said, especially as customers grow concerned about their lack of choices in the post-consolidation world.

“Customers want somebody who cares about them,” she said. “We can get you across the country, not only as a fill-in but as the prime.”

The company primarily competes against incumbents, Mahoney added, and works to customize its solutions to business needs.