Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Alcatel (ALA) and France -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bob Howarth who wrote (1370)	3/1/2000 5:41:00 PM
From: zbyslaw owczarczyk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3891

BT Selects Newbridge Networks for Nationwide Broadband Wireless Access Network in Belgium Market Leading Newbridge© LMDS Solution used by BT Belgium to Reach More Customers and to Capitalise on the growing Market of Broadband Wireless Access Services for Voice, Data and Internet MAIDENHEAD, United Kingdom & BRUSSELS, Belgium, March 1, 2000 ? Newbridge Networks (NYSE: NN; TSE: NNC) and BT Belgium today announced that Newbridge's market leading broadband wireless access solution has been selected by BT for a nationwide network roll-out in Belgium. The technology, known as LMDS or ?local multipoint distribution system?, will allow Belgian corporations and SMEs to by-pass the bandwidth bottleneck of the local loop, granting high speed access to BT Belgium?s sophisticated broadband services. BT Belgium is a wholly owned subsidiary of BT plc and is the number one challenger to the incumbent telco in the Belgian business-to-business communications marketplace. The new network is part of BT Belgium?s aggressive plans to increase the reach and scope of its services. The company will be building on the wide range of advanced voice and data services that it already offers to small and medium enterprises, government agencies and multinational companies. Newbridge is supplying BT Belgium with a complete turnkey solution, including technology, innovative financing and a full range of professional services. The latter includes network planning and design, operations support and marketing support. The ability to offer all of these solution elements proved to be vital to the outcome of the evaluation. Jan Vorstermans, Acting CEO of BT Belgium said, ?We are convinced that broadband wireless access will be leveraged by many Belgian corporations and SMEs in order to increase their competitiveness through high performance voice, data and Internet communications. BT Belgium selected Newbridge because, unlike other vendors, they can provide us with the added advantage of a totally packaged solution. This is a further step in our preparation for the pending broadband wireless access licensing procedures in our country" Newbridge will provide a complete broadband access infrastructure, including telecomms switching equipment, radio base stations, transceivers and customer premise equipment. The network will enable BT Belgium to offer a range of new services including broadband LAN internetworking, voice services and premium quality IP-based Virtual Private Networks (IP-VPNs) The Newbridge LMDS solution is widely recognised as being a market leader. It has received a string of awards, most recently the Frost and Sullivan 1999 Market Engineering Award for Vendor Excellence. Newbridge has created a highly integrated system with the goal of reducing both start-up costs and on-going network ownership costs. The radio base station technology is incorporated within the Newbridge 36170 multi service platform (MSP) - the industry?s best selling broadband switch - an approach which delivers marked economies in comparison to having to implement switching and radio elements separately. The choice of the 36170 MSP as the integration vehicle allows the reliability and multiple service classes of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) to be extended via the wireless connection to the customer premise. It also means that the wireless portion of the more network is brought under the control of the Newbridge 46020 Network Manager, leading to increased reliability and greatly speeding up the provisioning of new and existing services. ?BT Belgium?s decision to select the Newbridge solution reaffirms our leadership position in the broadband wireless market world wide,? said Pearse Flynn, COO, Newbridge Networks. ?We have spent considerable time with BT Belgium developing a cost-effective solution that enables them to introduce premium quality services to many more customers. We expect the relationship between Newbridge and BT Belgium to grow as we work together to achieve their long-term goals.? Newbridge Networks (NYSE: NN; TSE: NNC) designs, manufactures, markets and services wide area networking solutions for Internet service providers; local, long-distance, and wireless communications companies; cable television carriers; and corporate customers in more than 100 countries. The Company leverages its relationship with Newbridge Affiliate companies and strategic alliances with numerous other networking companies to deliver complete, end-to-end solutions. Newbridge customers include the world?s 350 largest telecommunications service providers and more than 10,000 corporations, government organisations and other institutions. Founded in 1986, the Company employs more than 6,000 people on six continents. News and information are available at www.newbridge.com. About BT Belgium BT (British Telecom) has been active in Belgium since 1988. BT Belgium currently employs over 280 people. Based in Zaventem and Evere, the company is headed by Jan Vorstermans, Acting CEO. BT Belgium provides communication services for international companies, for government agencies, for SMEs and for ISPs. BT Belgium also markets the services provided by Concert, the global joint venture of BT and AT&T. For its fiscal year closed on March 31 1999, BT Belgium's turnover has grown to 2.5 billion BEF, from 1.8 billion BEF for the previous year. Anticipating future growth - over 400 employees by the end of 2000 -, BT Belgium is building a new HQ capable of catering for 650 employees.