AT&T with Concert Communications IP>
AT&T launches AT&T Concert Services for customers in U.S.
BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – AT&T today announced it will begin selling a suite of enhanced international voice, data and Internet Protocol (IP) services under the AT&T Concert name. This move follows AT&T's and BT's announcement in July of their proposed global venture and BT's purchase in August of MCI's interest in Concert Communications Services.
AT&T said it will distribute AT&T Concert Services in the United States, in addition to its current portfolio of global bilateral and WorldSource services.
"Today's announcement enables us to deliver to customers an expanded portfolio of end-to-end global seamless services enriched by AT&T's top-rated network, pricing, sales and service," said Bob Annunziata, president of AT&T Business Services. "Best of all, we're giving customers the one-stop global account management and support they want."
"We're pleased to partner with AT&T in meeting, on an even greater scale, the needs of business customers who want choice and quality coupled with the functionality of services fully managed end-to-end," said Peter Manning, president and chief executive officer of Concert Communications Services. "That we were able to interconnect our two networks in just 65 days says it all - that Concert and AT&T are committed to delivering Concert services to customers in short order."
The AT&T-BT joint venture, announced July 26, is a key element of AT&T's overall growth strategy and represents a critical global complement to agreements struck with TCG and TCI, which expand the company's ability to deliver digital broadband and IP services to customers in the United States.
Planning is under way to integrate the two carriers' network facilities and deploy an IP-based network connecting 100 cities around the world. The global venture's public network will reach 237 countries and territories, and its managed networks will have 6,000 nodes in 52 countries.
Commenting on today's announcement, Annunziata said, "As excited and optimistic as we are about moving forward with the global joint venture, today's agreement to sell and distribute AT&T Concert Services stands on its own as a way of strengthening immediately AT&T's ability to serve global customers."
The six new AT&T Concert services announced today are:
AT&T Concert Frame Relay Service – AT&T and Concert are interconnecting the largest domestic network (AT&T) with the largest global frame relay network (Concert). This will extend customer frame relay services to 40 countries worldwide - all under one contract for a single global price that integrates AT&T's current discount plans.
AT&T Concert ATM Service – Recognizing the importance of ATM service in the AT&T global portfolio, the AT&T Concert offer will provide higher, more flexible bandwidths to customers who need multiple classes of service. Among other benefits, it will include frame to ATM interworking.
AT&T Concert InternetPlus – This service will link AT&T's Internet access network in the U.S. to the Concert global InternetPlus network - which extends service to 15 countries - to provide an IP solution for customers who require multi-site Internet access for applications ranging from browsing to virtual private network support.
AT&T Concert Remote Access Service – Seamlessly integrates AT&T's Virtual Private Network Service (VPNS) with Concert Remote Access Service to enable users to securely dial into LANs from 40 countries worldwide at speeds up to 56 kbps or ISDN.
AT&T Concert Virtual Network Service (VNS) - Available in 20 countries, this service combines AT&T's Software Defined Network with the feature-rich Concert Virtual Network Service to carry customers' voice and voice-band data to a variety of global locations.
AT&T Concert Inbound Service – This service enables MNCs to seamlessly operate call centers across multiple countries with advanced call routing and traffic management features. With its ability to receive calls in 17 countries from callers in 45 countries, the service is a valuable addition to AT&T's portfolio of services, and reinforces AT&T's leadership position in the call center market. Benefits include effective management of staff costs and calling volumes.
About AT&T
AT&T (http://www.att.com) runs the world's largest, most sophisticated communications network and is the leading provider of long-distance, data transport and wireless services. AT&T's voice network connects to 237 countries and territories, and the company offers private line, frame relay, ISDN, ATM and IP services that reach more than 160 countries worldwide. AT&T serves more than 80 million customers, including consumers, businesses and government. The company has annual revenues of more than $52 billion and 113,000 employees.
About BT
BT is one of the largest and most successful telecommunications companies in the world, capitalized at around £52 billion. A public listed company, in the last financial year (1997-98) BT's turnover was £15,640 million, with a pre-tax profit of £3,219 million.
The company has operations in more than 30 countries and employs about 124,700 people worldwide. Last year it spent £307 million on research and development.
BT has joint ventures in the Republic of Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, India, Korea and Malaysia.
About Concert
Concert, a wholly owned subsidiary of British Telecommunications plc., develops advanced networking services for global companies. Today, Concert's intelligent network platform provides an array of global communications services to more than 4,400 companies in more than 50 countries. Concert services are available through 47 distributors worldwide.
concert.com |
