Through partnerships, expanding its network facilities and building new point-of-presence (POP) sites, GTE Internetworking is trying to become a global Internet powerhouse.
Last year when GTE Internetworking announced it was building a new Internet backbone called the Global Network Infrastructure (GNI), it was global in name with only two POPs, in London and Sydney, overseas. Now, GTE Internetworking has POPs in six countries with the seventh coming online next month.
But the Cambridge, Mass. ISP's network assets are still limited. GTE Internetworking is working with Equant, Infonet and Hermes to connect many of its POPs overseas through leased capacity deals, says Mark Lunardoni, director of international planning at GTE Internetworking. And the ISP is also working with other carriers on a case-by-case basis.
Today, GTE Internetworking has its own physical network in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London. GTE Internetworking is connecting its POPs in Milan, Sydney and Caracas to the public Internet through leased network capacity from other service providers. Next month the ISP is also bringing its Tokyo POP and data center up online, also relying on leased line capacity.
But GTE Internetworking has improved access to countries overseas in the past 12 months by acquiring undersea cable capacity from the U.S. to London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Latin America and Japan.
While GTE Internetworking's network assets are limited overseas, it's likely that the ISP will strike deals with carriers overseas that may have fiber for sale, which is exactly what GTE Internetworking did in the U.S., Lunardoni says. Nearly 2 years ago GTE Internetworking purchased 15,000 route fiber miles of capacity from Qwest Communications Inc.'s OC-192 network to expand its Internet backbone domestically.
But in the meantime, GTE Internetworking isn't waiting to buy dark fiber throughout the world. GTE Internetworking has set up what it calls a Net.Alliance program, which lets other ISP sell GTE Internetworking's services to their customers. ISPs that are part of the Net.Alliance program can either re-brand the services or sell the Internet access services under the GTE Internetworking name.
Today, six ISPs, including CANTV in Venezuela, Planet Online in the UK, Etnoteam/I.NET in Italy, Magna Data in Australia, Thyssen/IS Internet Services in Germany and Worldport/Enertel in the Netherlands are part of GTE Internetworking's Net.Alliance program.
GTE Internetworking's dial and dedicated Internet access services are available overseas now as is the ISP's Web hosting services and managed firewall service called Site Patrol. GTE Internetworking's recently announced Virtual Private Network service and its Fax over IP service are not available internationally yet.
RELATED LINKS
GTE Internetworking finally gets its VPN story together
Network World, 12/4/98
Managing Internet bandwidth with a cost-effective eye
Network World, 7/8/98
