CenturyLink today added multipoint-to-multipoint capabilities to its Ethernet E-Services portfolio, which enterprises can use to link data centers, clouds, offices, VPNs, and LANs in various configurations. The new E-LAN services are MEF CE (carrier Ethernet) 2.0 certified and available in almost 300 markets, according to CenturyLink.

The features, which rely on SDN network components that can be configured to address connection needs in real time, allow enterprises to connect multiple locations globally, regionally, or in a single metro area. The change means enterprises “now have more flexibility to incorporate fully meshed services with point-to-point and dynamic services all over our go-forward SDN capable global network,” Mike Buso, director of product management at CenturyLink, wrote in response to questions.

The result is less concern or discussions about “speeds and feeds” and more focus on how customers can use dynamic capacity controls or CenturyLink’s Cloud Connect Dynamic Connections to meet specific application needs, Buso explained. “This definitely opens up the global mid and upper enterprise customers who want that flexibility to add locations or cloud connectivity to their network.”

CenturyLink’s E-LAN services also support single and multiple class of service options so customers can design a flexible network to support data demands of a particular application as needs change in real time, according to the company. Adaptive network controls give customers the ability to scale bandwidths from 2 Mb/s to 6 Gb/s, and those allocations can expand or contract as needs change.

Buso expects the new features to gain traction with “customers who have a regional presence and are looking to expand their network via [mergers and acquisitions] or want to include cloud connectivity to their multipoint network.”

CenturyLink’s network spans 450,000 route miles of fiber. It serves customers in more than 60 countries, including at least 150,000 on-network buildings and 2,200 data centers.