BT Expands US Backbone

LONDON -- BT today announced its strategy to expand and strengthen its commitment to multi-site global corporations in the Americas. An extended IP infrastructure, owned and managed by BT, will support a more comprehensive suite of ICT and telecommunications services, enabling US multi-site corporations to be more competitive internationally.

Building on its global strategy and the success of its European MPLS network, BT's strategy for the Americas includes the addition of 14 MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) nodes, bringing the total number of nodes to 23. This investment allows global organizations in the Americas to connect multiple sites seamlessly in order to effectively conduct business internationally.

Almost half of BT's top 2000 target customers are US headquartered multi-site corporations that have global requirements and extensive operations throughout Europe. In addition to expanding its footprint in the Americas, BT's strategy also includes driving costs from the network by continuously improving access arrangements through alternative access providers and technologies.

Andy Green, chief executive officer, BT Global Services, said: "BT has the people, solutions, reach and world-class service to meet the complex demands of multi-site corporations and government organizations. These customers expect quality service, reliable, customized solutions, and long-term partnerships with stable service providers. BT is proud to expand its ICT services in the Americas to meet our customers' changing needs even more effectively."

New sites will include: Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Mexico City, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto and Washington, DC. Buildout is current underway. Seven of the new nodes are expected to be operational by the autumn of 2003, and customer orders can be placed beginning Summer 2003.

Chuck Pol, chief operating officer, BT Americas, said: "Our expansion plans are in response to where our customers need us to be and is the foundation for our ICT offer in the Americas. Multi-site corporations now are able to procure seamless "Agile IP" services for their sites from Paris, Texas to Paris, France that have a consistent feature set internationally and domestically, and will now be even more price competitive."

BT's MPLS network the most extensive in the UK and Europe now extends into 70 countries with access from more than 1,000 points of presence. The MPLS network today includes more than 19,000 ports and services about 1,200 customers globally.

New Global Brand

In addition to expanding its services, BT recently announced a new global brand and logo to emphasize its shift from a traditional telecommunications player to a strategic ICT provider. BT's business services and solutions division also announced that it changed its name from BT Ignite to BT Global Services. BT's Americas strategy and expansion complements BT's global strategy, which focuses on the delivery of ICT technologies, products and services to individually meet customer challenges.

British Telecommunications plc (BT)