LONDON -- COLT provides lower cost alternative to leased lines and answers the continued strong demand for ATM/Frame Relay services COLT Telecom today is the first to launch an ATM/Frame Relay service delivered to customers via uncontended DSL. Companies that are looking to interconnect multiple sites will benefit from a new service which provides the same performance as leased lines, but at a fraction of the cost. The new ATM/Frame Relay over DSL service provides an ideal solution for businesses that want to use ATM/Frame Relay as a migration path towards adopting IP Virtual Private Networks (IP VPNs). The new service complements COLT's existing pan-European ATM/Frame Relay offering, as well as recent developments in its IP VPN product range. By using DSL as an access mechanism to connect customers located outside its major metropolitan area networks, COLT is able to target national markets with an ATM/Frame Relay service. Available to businesses in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, the new service therefore allows COLT to significantly extend its network coverage in the UK and Europe. The ATM/Frame Relay over DSL service also places COLT in the unique position of being able to offer a cost effective alternative to leased lines on a pan-European basis, while supporting the continued business demand for ATM/Frame Relay based services. Analyst firms predict that despite the growth in demand for IP based services, connection orientated ATM/Frame Relay technology is still growing and is currently valued at over four billion Euro's. COLT has launched its new ATM/Frame Relay offering with the aim of capturing this huge market opportunity for legacy technologies. Additionally, the new offering allows customers to benefit from superior network reliability with COLT's absolute bandwidth and delay guarantees. Permanent Virtual Circuits (PVC) are also built between customer sites to create a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This allows seamless interworking between multi-branch offices, and is as secure as the leased line equivalent for linking sites. Daryl Szebesta, Director, Data Services and Systems Outsourcing, COLT, explained the rationale behind the launch of the new service: "The expansion of our data portfolio with the new ATM/Frame Relay over DSL service presents a number of market opportunities for COLT. First of all, DSL allows us to increase our penetration in the UK and European domestic markets with a very competitively priced service. By providing service to companies outside the major cities, we are able to target previously untapped vertical markets, such as retail. Furthermore, ATM and Frame Relay technologies remain hugely popular with businesses, especially within the retail banking sector." Szebesta continued, "COLT is committed to satisfying all customers requirements, whether fully outsourced or whether they want to be involved in administering their own network. ATM/Frame Relay is an example of this and is the intermediate step prior to moving to an IP VPN, for which we operate the same strategy in terms of coverage."

Colt Telecom Group plc