C&W Turns On London NGN

LONDON -- Cable & Wireless today (Friday, 19 August) becomes the first telecoms operator to bring Next Generation Network (NGN) technology to the heart of London.

The revolution in communications technology will reach a key milestone when Cable & Wireless new network goes live in London, reaching Westminster and the City of London.

The capital's residents and key decision makers in government and business will now have access to a network that will enable a new generation of advanced services including Internet Protocol (IP) voice telephony, higher speed broadband, video, multimedia and provide a platform for the development of new application services in the future.

The Cable & Wireless investment in next generation IP network infrastructure will enhance communications for customers, providing them with easier and quicker access to information and enabling more efficient working. The new network will continue to provide the quality, reliability and security that customers have come to expect from the traditional telephone network.

The London network is the first stage of a £190 million investment in NGN throughout the UK over the next three years by Cable & Wireless, allowing for major growth in broadband and IP services.

The Cable & Wireless London NGN will be enabled by seven metro nodes platforms for multiple high-speed services based at Acton, Hammersmith, Battersea, Westminster, Deptford, Poplar and Camden. It will cover an area currently served by 100 BT exchanges.

Cable & Wireless' UK chief technology officer Paul Buttery said: "The introduction of NGN to London is a significant milestone for the UK's telecoms industry."

"The broadband revolution is already underway our Next Generation Network underpins continued rapid expansion into the future. Cable & Wireless is dedicated to pushing the boundaries to ensure we provide our advanced portfolio of IP services for customers."

The first users of the new network will be thousands of customers of Bulldog Broadband, who already have services of up to 8 megabit. The new network can support higher volumes of traffic and new services, as well as increased broadband speeds, allowing downloads of music tracks to be measured in seconds rather than minutes and for viewing feature films.

Cable & Wireless plc