International IP VPNs have finally made the leap from carrier presentations to multiple enterprise purchase orders, and a select band of carriers look set to dominate the market as it ramps up in the coming years.

That's one of the findings of the latest Boardwatch Insider report,"International IP VPNs: Goodbye Hype, Hello Reality," which is now available. The report names AT&T Corp. (NYSE: T), BT Group plc (NYSE: BTY; London: BTA), Equant (NYSE: ENT; Paris: EQU), Infonet Services Corp. (NYSE: IN), and WorldCom Inc. as the market's winners.

The trailing pack of niche players that look set to pick up some business, but not operate in the same league as the winning pack, includes Cable & Wireless plc (NYSE: CWP), Global Crossing Holdings Ltd., NTT Communications Corp., and Vanco Group Ltd.

To varying extents, all these companies will benefit from the current surge in interest in IP VPNs from corporate users. And for some operators, these types of VPN are dominating their new business leads at present. For example, AT&T says that 78 percent of current enterprise bids in which it is involved include an IP VPN element, while Infonet puts this figure at more than 80 percent. Equant, meanwhile, says it has signed up more than 200 new IP VPN customers so far in 2003.The report says the winning players have the ability to expand their customer bases and generate profitable revenue in the near future, though many of these companies are still working towards that financial position.

For example, WorldCom, currently going about its business under the name MCI (Nasdaq: WCOEQ, MCWEQ), is still in Chapter 11 proceedings (see MCI Back In Business). Yet once the carrier emerges from bankruptcy protection, which will be before the end of February 2004, the report's author, Rob Pritchard, believes it has the IP network, the know-how, the customer-centric approach, and the cashflow to be a key player in the IP VPN market.

The report outlines the international IP VPN services on offer from all the profiled service providers, examines their recent financial performance, explains the drivers behind the increasing uptake of these services (including the impact of MPLS), and identifies the key developments that will fuel future growth.

— Ray Le Maistre, International Editor, Boardwatch

The latest Boardwatch Insider report, International IP VPNs: Goodbye Hype, Hello Reality, is available now. Annual single-user subscriptions to Boardwatch Insider – which include access to the current report, the complete archives, and each of the monthly reports issued over the next 12 months – are available for $950.