AT&T to pump $US750 into Global IP network in 2007

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 13 March 2007 19:28

Business IT - Networking

AT&T plans to invest more than $US750 million in 2007 to enhance is ability to deliver IP services to businesses and multinational companies in key markets worldwide.

These will include the high growth economies of Asia Pacific (including China and India), the Middle East and Latin America and the larger more developed markets in Europe (France, Germany and the UK) and Canada.

 Last year, AT&T announced the formation of a joint venture in India,  opened new offices in the Middle East (Dubai) and extended its network presence in Vietnam.

AT&T says the investment will see it execute more than 200 initiatives to enhance and expand its portfolio of retail and wholesale services and solutions and extend its global network infrastructure and capabilities .

AT&T says it will add a multitude of advanced features to its virtual private network (VPN) services portfolio, business VoIP services portfolio, voice, security services and electronic customer service capabilities. Examples include global applications management capabilities on VPNs, global enhanced remote monitoring and management capabilities for hosting customers, global expansion of network-based firewalls, deployment of in-country IP services, enhancements to global IP conferencing and contact centres and global e-ordering, maintenance and network reporting capabilities.

It will also increase Internet data centre (IDC) capacity by expanding several existing sites in the US and the UK and by opening new data centres in the New Jersey/New York market in the US and in Canada. By the end of 2007 AT&T says it will have 38 IDCs around the world, including those of USi, acquired in September 2006 .

In addition the company plans to extend the deployment of key access technologies, such as Wi-Fi, DSL, ethernet and satellite to enable companies to connect to its global IP network.

By the end of 2007 AT&T says its multinational customers will have:
- MPLS-based access from 155 countries via more than 2,000 service nodes, including new nodes in Vietnam, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Morocco, and India;
- satellite and long line extension access from 51 countries;
- 13 network interconnects in 22 key regions/countries;
- DSL network access in 34 countries;
- ethernet network access in 31 countries;