France Telecom opens a new loop connecting the European Backbone Network (EBN) to Frankfurt, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. With Geneva, Paris, London, Brussels, Madrid and Barcelona already on line, the EBN is processing right on schedule. By the end of 2000, a total of 28 Points of Presence (PoPs) will be available, adding Copenhagen in Denmark; Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Hanover in Germany; Zurich and Basel in Switzerland; Milan and Rome in Italy. More PoPs are due to be connected in these countries next year, as well in other European markets such as Ireland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. When fully rolled out by the end of 2001, the network will span 20.000 kilometers in 16 countries, from Stockholm to Lisbon and from Dublin to Bratislava.
In addition to these PoPs, the European Backbone Network is interconnecting with national and regional backbones of each France Telecom's affiliated national operators. In total, the service will be available from more than 250 cities throughout Europe.
The EBN will also provide access to all regions of the world thanks to its interconnection with major submarine cables, such as SEA-ME-WE 2 and 3, Ariane 2, TAT-13 and TAT-14. The integration of Global One's network will create synergies at all levels: global coverage, local connectivity and new advanced products. The combined network will feature a seamless, self-healing backbone based on SDH, DWDM, IP, ATM and Frame Relay technology, capable of supporting all types of traffic. Providing excellent connectivity and capillarity, the combined network will reach more than 800 cities in over 40 countries worldwide. Notably, facilities in the US will be significantly upgraded to closely complement the EBN in Europe.
Designed to carry 80 Gbit/s on each ring with the possibility of upgrading up to 1.2 Tbit/s without laying new cables, the EBN offers high speed connections ranging from 45 Mbit/s to 2.5 Gbit/s. Benefits include a 99.95 % availability commitment and 24 hour network supervision and customer assistance. The end-to-end network also increases user-friendliness by eliminating the need to deal with several operators along international routes.
http://www.francetelecom.com/vanglais/i/i1.html