BT Global launches pan-European sdh network
By EDWARD HARROFF
The tidal wave of high-speed Internet Protocol (IP) traffic into Europe this year has encouraged BT Global (London), one of the largest international telecommunications groups, and its European joint venture partners to form an extensive pan-European Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (sdh) network. With very aggressive time-to-market objectives, BT Global`s BT Europe business unit will enhance the existing national sdh networks, build new links that will total 7000 km (4350 mi), and create 14 new points-of-presence (PoPs) spanning the seven national networks that will compose the pan-European infrastructure. Upon completion of phase one in January 1999, this network will provide high-speed data services into 200 cities via an all-fiber sdh network consisting of a total of 32,000 km (19,900 mi) of infrastructure.
BT Global is the arm of British Telecom responsible for business outside of the United Kingdom, including the company`s 10 European joint ventures. The new project will involve six of these joint-venture partners: Albacom, BT Belgium, Cegetel, Sunrise, Telfort, and Viag Interkom. Upon completion of the project, corporate customers operating in the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany will benefit from this supranational network.
As Alfred Mockett, BT Global`s president and chief executive, points out, "This new network will meet the explosive growth in the Internet and demand for bandwidth-hungry high-speed data services. By connecting the in-country networks and using the latest technology, BT, Concert Communications Services [75% owned by BT, 25% by mci], and our European partners will enjoy substantial operating efficiencies and economies of scale."
The new pan-European network also will enable BT and its partners to offer resilient, high-bandwidth Asynchronous Transfer Mode and Internet protocol services across Europe via a single network. With a trans-border European Community telecommunications market estimated at 105 billion European Currency Units (US$120 billion), Steve Wallage, Dataquest analyst, notes, "The only two other competitors able to offer this type of end-to-end pan-European connectivity are the alternate ptos [public telephone operators] WorldCom and Hermes Europe Railtel/COLT Telecom. BT will have to also face the tough task of implementing and managing complex end-to-end network services."
This network project was awarded to Nortel (Brampton, ON, Canada), which was one of five suppliers to complete BT`s bidding procedures. Nortel has a long-standing relationship with BT, but this 70 million-pound (US$112 million) contract represents a major commercial win for sdh-based technology systems with BT Global. Through the deployment of Nortel`s sdh and dense wavelength-division multiplexing (dwdm) technology, the network will be optimized for the transmission of IP traffic at 160 Gbits/sec, with the capability to increase transmission to 320 Gbits/sec in the future. The whole network will be fully managed by Nortel`s Integrated Network Management (inm) platform. Doug Clark, Nortel`s vice president for BT Global alliances, explains, "BT plans to manage this network centrally from a newly formed operations company near Amsterdam [see figure]. Our ability to manage complex sdh networks with inm and supply 10 Gbits/sec through 16-channel dwdm now really won this contract."
The equipment to be deployed in this pan-European network has been developed by Nortel at the company`s Harlow, New Southgate, and Monkstown, Northern Ireland, development centers. The majority of the equipment will be manufactured at Nortel`s factory in Monkstown.
At the analyst/press briefing that accompanied the announcement, Patrick Gallagher, director of BT Europe, laid out the company`s overall marketing objectives in the European market. He explained the current infrastructure investment of 70 million pounds (US$112 million) in the context of BT`s current investment strategy of 1.7 billion pounds (US$2.7 billion) as concrete action to further leverage the company`s joint-venture investments. Richard Rose, BT Network project manager, believes that "this pan-European sdh network will provide all BT service units access to bandwidth at the flick of a switch as the new pan-European network will be centrally managed." Other ptos are currently planning to enter the pan-European sdh network market and more major announcements are expected this fall. q