USA Global Link taps Siemens for global hybrid network
[All, this is another slice of the same story presented in post #1384 upstream. The reason they are using ATM in the core is to cut down on the number of hops, or Hop Count, which reduces end-to-end latency dramatically. ATM is a Layer 2 technology, thus it is virtually "cut through" at silicon speeds taking predetermined virtual circuits. More costly going in, but will assure quality and greater administrative control when traffic eventually ramps up. This also positions them well for IntServ adaptation, if, and when, that time should arrive. Regards, Frank Coluccio]
September 28, 1998
Since making a splash a year and a half ago by announcing
development of a 1,000-point-of-presence (POP) global
voice-over-IP network, USA Global Link has been
relatively quiet. But the company renewed its public
commitment to the network this week with the
announcement of a deal with Siemens Telecom
Networks that is crucial to the international service's
core infrastructure.
Global Link said the deal calls for Siemens to help
design, deploy, and sell on a financed basis central
office and ATM switches. IP telephony technology is
also included in the $12 million deal.
The contract follows a deal with 3Com for voice-over-IP
(VOIP) gateway switches earlier this year.
Global Link intends to match up the Siemens
technology, which provides Signaling System 7 (SS7)
signaling and control capabilities and ATM transport,
with the 3Com VOIP gateways. The calls will be moved
into and out of the public switched telephone network,
Global Link's own fiber-optic network, and the Internet
in a way that makes cost-effective sense, according to
Mark Petrick, a company spokesman.
Global Link is building its network -- dubbed Global
InterNetwork -- on a hub-and-spokes model, according
to Petrick. The network will have five international hubs,
in Denver, New York, London, Seattle, and Tokyo.
These centers will serve as hubs for regional traffic and
will route international calls throughout the world over
the company's high-speed fiber-optic backbone.
The company plans to offer voice, data, fax, video, and
multimedia services to residential, business, and carrier
customers. The Denver, Tokyo, and London hubs will
also serve as network operations centers.
The New York hub will go live in December, Denver a
few weeks from now, and London early next year, with
Seattle and Tokyo to follow in the first half of next year,
Petrick said.
Global Link will offer international services in 18
countries and domestic services in eight countries,
rolling out these services over an 18-month period
starting in the first half of next year. The one catch is
that the exact time frame for rollout will depend on when
the company completes its current round of financing,
Petrick said.
In March of last year, the Global Link declared it would
have a 1,000-POP network completed within 24 months.
That's not going to happen, but circumstances have
changed over the past year and a half and it won't be
necessary to have that many POPs in order to offer
services throughout the world, Petrick said.
At least one analyst agrees.
"Companies are offering services through partnerships,"
noted Tom Jenkins, senior consultant with Telechoice, a
U.S. telecommunications consultancy. For example,
ITXC of North Brunswick, N.J., is offering services that
link Internet telephony service providers to each other,
he said.
Global Link has also been steadily pushing back the time
frame for rollout of services. In February of this year, the
company said several cities would be on its network by
now. Although the company is not as far ahead as
planned, there's plenty of room in the market, Jenkins
noted.
"It's definitely up for grabs," he said.
Global Link already has competitors currently offering
VOIP services. But no one has a VOIP network that
spans the globe -- most companies offer services in two
to 10 countries, Jenkins noted.
Meanwhile, Siemens will provide Global Link with
technology including:
<li>the Siemens InterXpress 2000 platform, built with
3Com technology, which will let Global Link handle
voice- and fax-over-IP;
<li>the Siemens EWSD switch, which will let the
company provide local dial-tone, ADSL, ISDN, and
multimedia services;
<li>the Fast Feature Platform (FFP), which offers carriers
a database for advanced intelligent network services
such as debit card and international call back; and
<li>the MainStreetXpress 36170 switch, an ATM
platform that provides video and frame relay services.
Global Link has built a core business on international
call-back services. These let customers call in to its own
switches, which then call back customers and let them
call internationally using a cheaper circuit than what
otherwise would be available to them. Recently, the
company expanded its services to include call-back
services for Web sites.
USA Global Link Inc., in Fairfield, Iowa, is at
usagl.com. Siemens Telecom Networks is in
Boca Raton, Fla., at stn.siemens.com.
<A HREF="mailto:marc_ferranti@idg.com">Marc
Ferranti</A> is New York bureau chief for the IDG News
Service, an InfoWorld affiliate.
<<InfoWorld Electric -- 09-24-98>>
[Copyright 1998, InfoWorld]
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