Cisco Layer 2 techniques based on IEEE 802.1Q bridges are in widespread use by Ethernet MAN Service Providers. It is possible to implement the data plane functionality of Service Provider Backbone as described in the framework draft [ANDERSSON] using bridges as the Provider Edge (PE) equipment. There are three small but significant changes to the [LASSERRE-VKOMPELLA] VPLS draft which would make the Service Provider Backbone much more compatible with a bridge-based PE implementation, and which would improve the efficiency of all L2VPN implementations.