Chernikeeff Telecommunications Ltd, London has announced a high bandwidth shared leased line access service between the UK and the US, running over the Internet. The service has come about as a result of an exclusive agreement between the company and ANS CO+RE Systems Inc. To be tariffed through an annual fee, the basic C-Net service comprises provision and maintenance of a Cisco Systems Inc router, 64Kbps leased line access within the UK and 56Kbps leased line access in the US, shared access to transatlantic bandwidth capable of sustaining several simultaneous 56Kbps data streams, as well as constant monitoring and management of the service. The company is also to offer options including higher bandwidth leased line access both in the UK and the US, worldwide Internet access including name service support, data encryption, and closed user group support. Presumably to encourage take-up, Chernikeeff is to offer the service to between six and 10 initial customers at preferential rates. To qualify for this, customers have to sign a provisional contract to take the service for one year. The move marks something of a departure for Chernikeeff, which until now has concentrated on being an equipment rather than a services vendor. According to sales manager David Malia, the market is now asking for complete facilities management for network services, a trend that prompted this latest move.
