AT&T Wins With Air China

HONG KONG -- AT&T today announced that it has won a major contract in the Asian airline industry by winning a global networking service contract with Air China, the mainland's biggest airline. The multi-million dollar deal includes both connectivity and network management services covering 48 sites in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Canada and the US. Air China asked AT&T to transform its corporate network to an IP-enabled global network platform, which will allow Air China to improve its operating efficiency and enhance internal communications. Air China's customers will in turn benefit from enhanced services and greater reliability. AT&T will provide global networking solutions that support Air China's rapidly expanding international business operations, including its passenger reservation system, customer management, frequent flyer program, operation information, cargo and airplane planning systems. "We are very excited to be working with Air China," said Bill King, General Manager of AT&T Greater China Group. "Air China's mission critical international networking needs fit well with AT&T's global solutions and state-of-the-art infrastructure. This contract and others that we've won recently prove that AT&T has gained the trust and confidence of large Chinese enterprises."Under the agreement, AT&T will provide end-to-end global Frame Relay services supplemented by bilateral International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC) to link Air China's global network and data centre in Beijing with its branches offices around the world. On the network management side, AT&T will provide Managed Network Services from its Global Client Support Centre (GCSC). As one of AT&T's regional hubs, the GCSC will constantly monitor the entire Air China network and provide early fault diagnosis and prevention services, as well as monitor the network performance to help ensure maximum efficiency. AT&T Corp.