May 20, 2005 London, UK -- COLT, a provider of business communications services in Europe, has announced the signing of more than 25 customers for its switched Ethernet and point-to-multipoint Ethernet services. According to a press release, the provider's new customers include: UK IT solutions firm Principal IT; pension fund PFA Pension of Denmark; HTM, the Hague's public transport system, and a range of international media, IT, and professional services firms.
Principal IT launched the provider's point-to-multipoint service, as well as its LANLink Hub & Spoke services, as core network infrastructure for delivering voice and data services to over 4,000 UK business nodes. The provider says its LANLink Hub & Spoke service allows multiple branch sites to connect to a single Ethernet hub located in a data center or office.
"COLT also provides ongoing management of the network so we can focus our resources elsewhere, whilst having full confidence in our network reliability," remarks Pete Gray, sales director for Principal IT.
According to the provider, other new customers for its LANLink service include an information provider that is replacing multiple SDH connections at sites across Europe, and an international media and entertainment company that needed a pan-European WAN to support a global SAP deployment and network consolidation program.
PFA Pension is using the provider's switched Ethernet services to connect its three main sites and carry high volumes of traffic among them.
"COLT's Switched Ethernet service was attractive to us because we need high levels of security, high bandwidth, and the ability to scale the bandwidth up and down in small increments as our needs change," explains Niels Saaby Johansen, IT director of PFA Pension. "By deploying COLT's service, we have also been able to consolidate our servers to one single, logical site and reduce the total cost of ownership of the network substantially."
The provider says its switched Ethernet services provide high-speed connectivity among customers' sites, allowing them to operate as a single virtual LAN that is simpler and more cost-effective than traditional WAN services.
According to the provider, other new customers for its switched Ethernet services include a UK IT and business process services firm using the services to extend its data center infrastructure to multiple clients, and a global information services provider, who chose the services when consolidating its large number of sites in the UK.
"We have seen very strong uptake of our switched and point-to-multipoint Ethernet services over the last six months - testimony to our belief that Ethernet is the ideal technology for a company's core communications infrastructure," maintains Tony Guerion, head of Ethernet services at COLT. "We expect Ethernet to become as ubiquitous in the wide area as it is in the LAN."
The research and advisory services company RHK, in its recent report, "European Ethernet Markets Vary Widely by Country," identified the provider as a market leader among Western European Ethernet service providers. The provider says its Ethernet services are available in 13 countries on a metro, national, and international basis.