Rivals 'could beat BT' in the next-generation game
Graeme Wearden
ZDNet UK
June 10, 2005, 13:00 BST
BT is putting a lot of muscle behind its 21st Century Network, but
Marconi says BT's choice of suppliers could help smaller rivals
steal a march
BT may find that it is overtaken by smaller UK rivals in its push to
radically transform its UK telecommunications infrastructure into an
all-IP based network, a senior executive at Marconi suggested this
week.
Marconi surprisingly missed out last month when BT picked its first
batch of suppliers for its 21st Century Network (21CN). From its
position as a telecoms equipment provider, Marconi has seen that
some of the UK's 'second-tier' operators are actively investigating
similar moves to BT and believes they could move faster, according
to Andy Evans, Marconi's chief technical and information officer.
"We're seeing a lot of new interest in next generation networks from
everyone in the UK," Evans said. "Everyone always assumed that BT
would lead the charge and everyone else would follow, but could
others get there first?"
Marconi sells a product called the SoftSwitch, which it says can
help telcos replace legacy PSTN networks and offer applications such
as real-time video calls and Internet telephony. BT had been
expected to use SoftSwitch to handle the 'network intelligence' in
21CN, but instead it chose a similar product from Ericsson, even
though it had previously field-tested Marconi's SoftSwitch.
Evans claimed that BT took its decision purely on price, rather than
technical considerations, and suggested that BT's choice of 21CN
suppliers gives its rivals the opportunity to steal a march.
"It's a challenge to keep 21CN on track?iven the risk the timetable
is under, as the softswitch BT has chosen isn't one they've used
before," said Evans.
With 21CN, BT plans to replace a clutch of legacy networks with a
single, IP-based one. It is aiming to start moving customers onto IP
in 2006, and to switch off its circuit-switched voice network by
2010. Some industry experts doubt that this timetable is achievable.
Evans' view is that, even if BT does pull it off, it could find that
a smaller UK rival -- perhaps Cable&Wireless (C&W) -- has moved to
IP first.
"BT has a multiyear plan [to build 21CN]. If you can do it now, you
may have a window of a couple of years to do your network," said
Evans.
One UK analyst said privately that Evans' argument sounded credible.
BT, though, rejects the suggestion that by choosing Ericsson over
Marconi it has put its 21CN plans at risk.
"We're very happy with our choice. We've been using Ericsson
software for years," said a BT spokeswoman.
Moving to IP will allow BT to save money on operational expenses,
and offer more innovative services. While none of its UK rivals have
a comparably large network, several already provide serious
competition in the business market.
C&W looks as likely a candidate as any to race BT in the push for
IP. It has already said it is spending ?90m to build an all-IP
network similar to but smaller than 21CN.
Last month C&W announced it had chosen Marconi to supply
a 'multiservice provisioning platform' -- effectively the same kind
of network intelligence for which BT selected Ericsson over Marconi.
A C&W spokesman declined to comment for this story, explaining that
the telco is still negotiating with suppliers for its own next-
generation network. |
