BT Launches Wholesale Ethernet Service over 21CN

BT announced the launch of Wholesale Ethernet service over its 21st Century Network (21CN) platform.


Wholesale Ethernet offers fixed communications providers a high-bandwidth service for linking up multiple sites across the UK for their large enterprise and business customers. Mobile operators can use the Wholesale Ethernet to better support bandwidth hungry services based on 3G and HSPDA technology. BT said it has a number of customers already confirmed for the service.


The service delivers core bandwidth speeds of up to 1 Gbps at launch, with a flexible range of options from 1 Mbps to 1 Gbps. Access speed ranges will also increase from the current offer of 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps to include 10 Gbps. At launch, the service will be available from over 100 Ethernet nodes across the UK, progressively rising to more than 600 by spring 2009.


BT said Wholesale Ethernet will become a key service underpinning its Wholesale's Managed Customer Network portfolio, whereby major UK operators are choosing to outsource some or all of their network management to BT Wholesale. Ethernet is forecast to be the UK's fastest growing access technology in terms of spend between now and 2012.http://www.btplc.com