AT&T details global network expansion plans

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 22 February 2006 03:15

Business IT - Networking

AT&T has detailed plans to expand its global network to meet the growing demands of its multinational enterprise customers.


AT&T is extending services, reach and access into additional locations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and in the United States and says the investment "demonstrates the company's commitment to its global enterprise customer base - especially those with significant operations in the United States, who are demanding a globally consistent set of services with high levels of accuracy, cost-efficiency and automation wherever they do business."

 AT&T says it can now provide reliable network access to 97 percent of the world economy. Network expansion plans in  2006 plans include:

* Integrating the more than 1000 frame relay/ATM nodes in the legacy SBC 13-state region of the USA into the AT&T backbone network, thereby offering additional MPLS access capabilities by year-end 2006.
* Installing seven AT&T Global Network nodes in Cyprus, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Malaysia, India and Vietnam.
* Commissioning 16 additional network interconnections in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Russia, Vietnam, India, Japan, Brazil, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador and Dominican Republic giving greater in-depth country coverage.
* Adding DSL broadband capabilities via alliance agreements with local carriers, in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Ireland, India, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. Plans call for DSL broadband access in up to 25 countries by year-end 2006.
* Expanding Ethernet connectivity in Canada, UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Austria, India, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia targeting up to 20 countries by year-end 2006.
* Adding satellite coverage in Afghanistan, Burkina-Faso, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Nepal, Brunei and Sri Lanka which will provide access from a total of 20 countries worldwide.