LONDON -- Dr Alireza Mahmoodshahi, Chief Technology Officer of COLT Telecom Group plc (COLT), has been appointed to the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF)'s Board of Directors. A pioneer in Ethernet services, he will play a key role in shaping the development of Carrier Ethernet technologies and standards in Europe. COLT is a leading European provider of business communications and was itself awarded European Service Provider of the Year, Best in Business, by the MEF, in November 2005.

The Metro Ethernet Forum is a non-profit organisation created to accelerate the adoption of Ethernet in metro networks worldwide. On joining the MEF Board, Dr Mahmoodshahi said, "Ethernet is one of the most important technologies in networking today and will play a central role in next generation networks. The fact that it is so flexible, cost-effective and well-established in the LAN, means it is an ideal weapon for simplifying the legacy of networks that all service providers have built up in the last decade."

He added that service providers need to play a more active role in developing Ethernet, hand-in-hand with vendors. "A lot still needs to be done to develop the capabilities of Ethernet so that it becomes a universal communications technology - across wide area and access networks as well as the local area. This includes carrier inter-working and other issues. As one of the few European service providers on the MEF Board, I aim to represent the point of view of a pan-European service provider within the MEF and help encourage inter-working amongst European carriers."

Nan Chen, President of the MEF, commented on Dr Mahmoodshahi's appointment: "Dr Mahmoodshahi will bring significant experience and creditability to the MEF, especially in Europe. Alireza is an Ethernet veteran. He made KVH the first carrier in Japan to launch high-speed Ethernet services and most recently he brought his vision and conviction to COLT. Thanks largely to Alireza's efforts, COLT last year received the prestigious MEF European Service Provider of the Year Award, Best in Business, judged by a panel of Europe analysts, press and MEF representatives."

Dr Mahmoodshahi will bring extensive experience in standards development to the MEF. He was previously chairman of a CCITT working group and US chairman of CITEL, both responsible for setting global standards for ISDN over VSAT.

Presenting a keynote speech at the Lightreading Ethernet Expo 206 tomorrow, organised in association with the MEF, Dr Mahmoodshahi will explain that Ethernet will play a key role in COLT's next generation services.

"Our ultimate vision is that future networks will become invisible. Businesses will be able to change the services they buy, or turn them on and off, just as easily as flicking a light switch. People will be able to access any application from any device: phone, laptop or PDA.

As the first step in this direction, COLT will continue on its Ethernet innovation path and will be rolling out a platform for end-to-end Ethernet covering the access and core networks. This will simplify our infrastructure and enable us to offer our customers greater flexibility, ease of use, faster provisioning and cost savings."

Colt Technology Services Group Ltd