Teleglobe preps network for new IP services

Multinational organizations are getting more choices when it comes to selecting a service provider that offers enhanced IP services.

The latest is from Teleglobe, based in Reston, Va., which has deployed Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology throughout its networks that span Asia, Europe and the U.S. Teleglobe plans to roll out a suite of services, including an IP VPN offering, that uses the enhanced quality-of-service and traffic-management capabilities that MPLS offers.

Teleglobe is not the first international telecommunications service provider to launch MPLS-based services. Equant, Global One and Infonet currently offer such services. But Teleglobe says its implementation differs because it is supporting MPLS over SONET, instead of MPLS over frame relay or ATM, says Randy Ivey, executive director of IP engineering and operations. Ivey says MPLS over SONET offers better throughput because the network does not have to send frames or cells and instead sends only IP packets that do not have as much overhead.

Teleglobe has never offered frame relay services.

"The company made a strategic decision to not support frame relay, but ATM," says Brownlee Thomas, an analyst at Giga Information Group. So it's not surprising that the company would upgrade its network to support MPLS over SONET.

Teleglobe is using Cisco 12000 Gigabit Switch Routers to support traffic engineering that will let users set up application and traffic prioritization over dedicated Internet access connections or within closed VPNs, Ivey says. Teleglobe has also deployed dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) fiber-optic gear from Nortel to strengthen its backbone capacity. DWDM lets service providers get more channels out of a single, fiber-optic strand, thus increasing capacity 30 to 60 times.

"We recommend [users] look at MPLS if they do not have frame relay in place already, or when adding new sites to an existing network," Thomas says.

Because Teleglobe is not dealing with the overhead of legacy technology such as frame relay, the company's MPLS services are expected to be more economical. But this remains speculation because Teleglobe's enhanced services aren't generally available, nor is the pricing known.

But even if the prices are competitive, users also have to consider the company's experience in supporting enterprise services, Thomas says. Teleglobe is primarily known as a carrier's carrier, in essence offering wholesale capacity to other service providers. The company is now trying to shift away from its history as a wholesale provider to focus on enterprise IP services.

"The company operates the third- or fourth-largest Internet backbone globally," Thomas says. So its future success in this area is not a question of network strength. However, the company will have to prove it has the capabilities to support enterprise customer needs as it starts rolling out its enhanced IP services.

Teleglobe: www.teleglobe.com.

Contact Senior Editor Denise Pappalardo

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