Sprint adds IP service in Korea

As part of a strategy to expand its international network footprint, Sprint is now offering a suite of corporate IP services in Seoul, South Korea.

Sprint’s foray into Korea comes on the heels of Sprint’s introduction of services in Taiwan and New Zealand last year. Sprint also offers IP services in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

With the addition of Korea, Sprint’s IP network now reaches 22 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Sprint offers IP services in an additional 80 countries through partnerships with other ISPs.  All of the services offered by Sprint’s overseas partners fall under the carrier’s own service-level agreements.

In Korea, Sprint will be offering its SprintLink Dedicated Internet Service, SprintLink IP VPN Service, security and managed network services. Sprint will also offer its SprintLink Frame Relay, Packet Private Line and Virtual LAN services.

Sprint plans to add an MPLS-based IP VPN service internationally – including in Korea – at a later date.

“Korea is a key location for us in Asia-Pacific by virtue of its significant update of broadband technology and its strength in the global manufacturing sector,” explains Sprint spokesman Catherine Goodson. “Korean enterprises are outward-looking and ready for the advantages offered by the entrance of new international network players to the Korean market.”

Even with the addition of IP services in Korea, Sprint remains a Tier 2 global ISP, says Brownlee Thomas, a principal analyst for global telecom services at Forrester Research. That’s because Sprint owns or controls its IP network in only 22 countries, compared to 60 or more countries for the leading global carriers such as AT&T, MCI, British Telecom, Infonet and Equant.

“Sprint is a national Tier 1 provider because it owns or controls sufficient network infrastructure to be able to provide Tier 1 service and meet industry-leading SLAs here,” Thomas says. “In the 20-plus countries where they operate and where they actually control the network, they would be a Tier-1. But in order to be a true Tier 1 global provider you have to provide coverage in three or four global regions.”