Announcement follows completion of summer trial
AT&T and BT have announced an agreement to offer Inter-Provider Cisco TelePresence, providing exchange-to-exchange telepresence meeting capability. The new interoperability between AT&T and BT telepresence exchanges will allow their respective business customers to schedule and seamlessly connect telepresence endpoints. The commercial availability follows a successful trial conducted last summer.
AT&T customers can schedule business-to-business meetings involving a BT endpoint using the AT&T Telepresence Solution scheduling portal. BT’s telepresence customers will be able to do the same on BT’s scheduling portal. Client support and billing will continue to be provided by their respective customers’ service providers. Among the features supported across the two networks: encrypted connections for high-security conferencing, and integrated directory access.
Commenting on the agreement, Brian Washburn, Research Director for Network Services at Current Analysis, said in a statement: “AT&T and BT’s exchange-to-exchange connection marks a significant milestone in the industry. Exchange-to-exchange telepresence is a major stride forward in building smooth, end-to-end telepresence experiences for customers across network boundaries worldwide, and advancing Cisco’s efforts to support inter-provider connectivity for telepresence.”
Kevin Peters, the chief marketing officer for AT&T Business Solutions, commenting in a statement added, “Businesses are recognizing the value of telepresence as an effective global collaboration tool, and we’re seeing increasing adoption of our AT&T Telepresence Solution quarter after quarter by both small and large businesses across industries.”
Chris Clark, managing director, BT Enterprise, added: “Companies are looking for ways to make employees more productive, reduce carbon emissions, lower travel-related costs and create a competitive advantage. Being able to connect across telepresence networks greatly expands the reach and value of the service and maximizes the business benefits. With this industry-first, BT and AT&T are changing the way businesses collaborate.”
