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Technology Stocks : Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Phoenix who wrote (25861)	5/18/1999 10:06:00 PM
From: Techplayer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 77400

CSCO ATM... MCI WorldCom, Equant extend ATM offerings Local move for MCI competes with Bell offerings, while Equant stakes claim to global market. By David Rohde Network World Fusion, 05/18/99 Reflecting the growing popularity of ATM as a user WAN service, two carriers have extended their ATM offers - one to the local area, the other around the globe. At last week's NetWorld+Interop 99 show in Las Vegas, MCI WorldCom announced its Metro ATM service, which provides multiple ATM connections within a single metropolitan area at less than half the cost of MCI WorldCom's long-distance ATM service. Also at N+I, Equant Network Services, a specialized international voice and data carrier, launched its first global ATM service. The idea behind both new services is to offer users an ATM network with common features across local, domestic and international boundaries, although in MCI WorldCom's case those features come with a footnote. That is MCI WorldCom's Metro ATM will be offered in three service classes - constant bit rate, variable bit rate non-real-time and available bit rate. Metro ATM is initially available in two port speeds - T-1 and T-3 - with OC-3 connectivity at 155M bit/sec coming available shortly. Ports on an MCI WorldCom switch that handle only permanent virtual circuits to user sites in the same LATA will be priced lower than regular long-distance ATM. The company has never officially released its ATM port and PVC prices, but it did offer a scenario that demonstrates significant cost savings. To save money users tend to purchase local carriers' ATM services for multiple sites in a metro area. However, those customers have had to either run two separate ATM networks or deal with a network-to-network interconnection (NNI) between their local and long-distance ATM networks. Now the local ports for MCI WorldCom Metro ATM will be on the switches that will be used for long-distance service for a number of years. That means all ATM traffic will enjoy the same features on a single network. But existing MCI WorldCom users will have to choose carefully if they want that benefit. The switches for the combined local/long-distance ATM network will be devices from the WorldCom side of the house - Cisco BPX ATM switches - as opposed to the Newbridge equipment used in the legacy MCI network. The legacy network is still being supported but the WorldCom network will be favored in the future. That's partly because the Cisco equipment happens to be widely deployed overseas where MCI WorldCom is building its global network, says John Scarborough, the company's director of virtual data services. As it happens, Equant hopes to beat MCI WorldCom and other carrier to the global ATM punch with its new global ATM service. Equant's offer begins with two service classes - constant-bit-rate and variable-bit-rate non-real-time, supporting speeds up to OC-3. By its very design, the service operates over a unified network of Nortel ATM switches without NNIs among countries. As a result, Equant's offer avoids "the disparate backbones and inconsistent service levels potentially associated with multiple partners and NNIs," says Kitty Weldon, an analyst with The Yankee Group in Boston. Under the service, a 2M bit/sec connection from the U.S. to Japan will cost $54,000 a month using the variable-bit-rate class of service, while a 10M bit/sec connection on the same route will cost $130,000. A 10M bit/sec France-to-Germany connection will cost $45,000 a month.