Follow-up info on the filed Energis IPO.
Webpage:
energis.com
Some press:
data.com
data.com
data.com
Some details from their webpage:
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The Company
Energis, a leading player in UK business telecommunications, has built the world's first national Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) network.
A wholly owned member of The National Grid Group plc (NGG), Energis built its national network throughout England and Wales, by installing 4,700km of fibre optic cable along the National Grid's electricity transmission infrastructure.
Energis was granted a full Public Telecommunications Operator's Licence in May 1993 launching its telecommunications service nationally in September 1994.
Energis has developed a full portfolio of value added, feature rich services, which include innovative telephony services, ATM and frame relay services for data transmission, tailored freephone packages and card services.
Energis has rolled out its services to over 28,000 sites, customers include: Abbey Life, Hertz UK, Unisys, Boots, Swinton, Mirror Group Newspapers, Reuters, Virgin Atlantic Airways, Great Universal Stores, Demon Internet and the BBC and is currently routing over 3 million calls over the network a day.
At September 1996, National Grid's total investment in Energis amounted to some œ500 million.
Energis - the commitment
Energis is committed to offering 'more for less' to the business customer. Through an innovative and responsive approach to business communications needs, Energis strives to understand customer requirements, delivering reduced cost business communications to meet individual customer's needs.
Energis - the network
Energis has a 4,700 km national network, based on Synchronous Digital
Hierarchy (SDH).
Installation of the network was achieved by using two methods: one of these was wrapping fibre optic cable primarily along NGC's electricity transmission infrastructure. Energis has installed one of the world's most advanced networks which has a capacity to carry data at up to four times the speed of other fibre networks.
Energis - key benefits of the service:
-A flexible and dynamic approach to business communications
-Cost savings
-A commitment to innovation and the development of new services
-Management information and support
Flexibility and dynamism
Energis has developed its business services portfolio by listening to the needs of the customer. Steering away from developing homogenous 'mass market' services, Energis has tailored its communications and information services portfolio to suit the varied needs of different business groups.
Cost savings
Energis aims to offer the best value for money across both basic business telephony and a wide range of voice, data and vision services in the UK telecommunications market. Service cost comparisons are available on request.
Innovation
Energis has installed a network for the future. By using SDH technology Energis has escaped the problems associated with legacy systems and has a ready backbone for future developments in voice and data services. Energis is constantly developing innovative services that offer customers both cost savings and functional effectiveness.
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The Technology:
Energis makes the most of today's technology to bring real choice and value to its customers. Energis has selected `best of breed' network management and information systems from around the world and tailored them for the UK market.
The National Grid's electricity transmission infrastructure already exists and stretches for some 7,000 route kilometres throughout England and Wales. Energis built its 4,700 kilometres network predominantly on this infrastructure transmitting voice, data and image via fibre optic cable. Two methods have been used to install
the cable, which consists of a minimum 12 pairs of optical fibre:
-replacing the existing earthwire with a new composite earthwire containing the fibre pairs;
-wrapping the fibre optic cable around the existing earthwire.
Fibre installed in this way is much more secure than buried cables from the threat of vandalism, fire or even human error.
SDH is tomorrow's transmission system. The Energis network transmits
information using Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) transmission equipment. Energis uses SDH technology across its entire fibre optic network. It is designed to deliver the speed, reliability and capacity to meet today's communications requirements and provides a platform for future information, communications and entertainment services. The Energis network is also future proofed with national ATM and frame relay capabilities.
Features of the Energis network include:
Reliability - Energis' highway comprises a series of interconnected rings. Any piece of information, be it voice, data or image, is simultaneously sent around the rings in opposite directions. This virtually guarantees continuous unbroken communication.
Speed and Capacity - SDH operates at 2.4 Gigabits per second - up to four times faster than most operational fibre networks. This high speed transmission means that a much greater amount of information can be carried over the network. Each pair of fibres can carry over 30,000 simultaneous phone calls, or the equivalent of the output of all BBC television and radio programmes. With this capacity, Energis is positioned to deliver the demanding services of the future while reducing the cost of transmitting the information.
Control - Every piece of information sent over the Energis network is managed end-to-end by the Energis Network Management Centre. Many circuits are software-defined, enabling Energis to identify network issues as soon as they happen and to rectify them simply and quickly (often remotely at the touch of a button).
Information - Energis' Information Systems are designed to give complete information to both the company and the customer. Useful information to customers is an integral part of all Energis services.
The Future - Energis is committed to exploiting future technology for the benefit of its customers as their needs change and as new technologies become available. The information transmitted on the Energis network today is just the first of a series of applications aimed at taking Energis customers into the next century. |
