Competitive services provider Paetec today announced the national rollout of network-based firewall service designed to create hassle-free security for mid-sized to large businesses and enterprises.

The Paetec Network Firewall resides in the network and is managed by Paetec employees, the company said. It can be purchased separately or in combination with other security products including anti-virus, anti-spam and Web filtering.

The Paetec announcement is the latest in a series of managed security announcements from service providers seeking to meet the needs of businesses that need to do business on the Internet without the constant threat of denial-of-service attacks or other malware that can damage or destroy corporate networks.

“Paetec’s Network Firewall service provides companies with unparalleled security without expensive hardware costs,” said Paetec Chief Marketing Officer Jack Baron, in a prepared statement. “Since the solution is network based, all incoming and outgoing Internet traffic will pass thru the firewall. This is a very compelling solution for customers that would like to reduce their operating and capital expenditures with the flexibility to grow as their business needs change.”

One of the benefits of the network-based firewall, the company said, is the elimination of non-productive traffic that steals bandwidth from legitimate applications.