Tuesday, January 21, 2003

WilTel Provides SBC with Optical Capacity for National Network

WilTel (formerly Williams Communications) will provide SBC Communications with 10 Gbps OC-192c transport for building out its national IP network. WilTel expects to activate the network within 75 days. WilTel, which recently emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, described the deal as the largest in its history. SBC's backbone IP network will be utilized for growth of its IP-based services such as business Internet access, SBC- Yahoo! DSL, SBC-Yahoo! Dial, Virtual Private Networking, Internet Data Centers, and Web Hosting.
http://www.wiltelcommunications.com

  • In December 2002, SBC Communications selected Cisco Systems' 12000 Series routers and MPLS technology for deployment in its new national 10 Gbps OC-192 backbone network.


  • In November 2002, SBC Communications announced its national data transport strategy for delivering Frame Relay, ATM and Private Line services to business customers across the US. SBC's new standardized national data services will be introduced as the company gains regulatory approvals to enter specific markets. The company said that it anticipated completion of the national expansion phase of its data and IP network backbones by mid-2003, including a fully redundant OC-192 IP platform. SBC plans to serve customers in 50 of the nation's largest cities with a full range of data and IP services.


  • In October 2002, Williams Communications emerged from Chapter 11 proceedings and changed its name to WilTel Communications. Simultaneously, the company announced that Howard Janzen had resigned as CEO. He was replaced by Jeffrey K. Storey, previously the company's COO.