British Telecommunications Plc has decided to extend its Asynchronous Transfer Mode services, and has signed a contract with UK telecoms equipment manufacturer and integrator GPT Communications Systems Ltd. GPT will install ATM network equipment from the Siemens AG and Newbridge Networks Inc alliance. The deal is an extension of the original CellStream contract, which used equipment supplied by Newbridge and installed by GPT. CellStream was BT’s trial ATM service, launched in July of last year (CI No 2,958). GPT will resell an unspecified number of Siemens/Newbridge 36170 core ATM switches, and 36130 and 36140 ATM access multiplexor switches, and will be responsible for ensuring compatibility within BT’s Network and acting as the integrator and manager. The contract is for a period of two years, with a possible extension to five years. Neither BT or GPT would reveal the value of the contract, saying they are unsure of exactly what services will be offered. The provisional plan is to extended the range and capacity of CellStream’s data only services by offering voice, video and data over ATM. British Telecom has also being testing broadband ATM services to homes and small businesses using Digital Subscriber Line technologies. The Siemens/Newbridge alliance has also supplied ATM equipment to MCI Corp, and there is speculation that it will supply equipment to extend MCI Corp’s HyperStream trial ATM service, which runs in parallel to BT’s CellStream. MCI is in the process of merging with BT.
