AT&T introduces virtual private network sevices

By PETER GRIFFIN, telecoms writer

A few months after winding down its global telecoms venture with British Telecommunications, AT&T is strengthening its presence in the region with new telecoms services that will feed into its growing global network.

The company last week launched some VPN (virtual private network) services aimed at companies in the region that have offices elsewhere in the world and want to streamline their telecoms, data services and billing.

The VPN products are largely based on the global data network AT&T bought from IBM in 1998 and assets returned from Concert which will cease to exist on April 1.

David Foster, AT&T's director of portfolio and marketing strategy, said a condition of the Concert wind-down would see existing staff and services kept in place for three years. Employees of AT&T and BT would then be repatriated to their respective organisations.

AT&T was looking to build a more extensive network than the one Concert was based on.

"The Concert network was high speed but narrow in terms of bandwidth. And it only had something like 27 nodes," he said.

AT&T was investing US$300 million this year to add a further 80 nodes to its global network. The company hopes to eventually reach 850 cities.

AT&T's New Zealand general manager, Roger Payne, said Concert had a handful of multinational customers with a presence in New Zealand. As the venture was wound down they were receiving uninterrupted service, he said.

The new services target New Zealand companies with branch offices overseas such as Trade New Zealand and Peace Software. Both are existing AT&T customers. Offering the new services would not involve AT&T investing in infrastructure in New Zealand.

The globally-managed VPN services would be based on MPLS (multi protocol label switched) technology. That would allow companies to more easily link remote employees around the world with reduced capital outlay on infrastructure and personnel.