BT’s vision for Global 21CN – our 21^st Century Network – was a key theme at the customer service forum we held in Brussels at the end of 2006. Global 21CN is a multi-service network designed to support voice, data, Internet and video services. It’s based on intelligent systems, Internet Protocol (IP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). We’re making significant investments to build a network with the reach, scale, resilience and security that our customers need to transform the way they do business.

“Our vision is to continue the move from providing IP transport to supporting IT transactions,” said Alex Pannell, Head of Global IP Products for BT, “and we will continue to invest under our Global 21CN programme – creating new products and services for customers, and a ‘zero touch’ network where services are software defined, automated, and initiated by themselves.”

''The world-class IP MPLS backbone is key to 21CN because it has the potential to act as a common transport protocol for all types of communication and applications,” he continued. “By the end of 2007, our goal is to have VPN services in 170 countries capable of supporting voice, video and data in as many locations as possible”.

Designed with customers in mind

Keeping customers at the centre of this ongoing network innovation and development is an important part of BT’s strategy. This was another key theme of the service forum.

George Nazi, who is CTO & VP of BT Global Engineering, said: “BT is the only operator in the world to commit to a planned national and international rollout of a next generation IP network. It will open up a whole new world for our customers to work more flexibly, knowing that the technology will adapt to suit their location and access method”.

''The last 2 years has seen a significant transformation in the services we can deliver to our customers,” he added. “We have more than doubled our global MPLS country coverage, scaled capacity to just under 200Gb today, and implemented more resilient cables and trunking. We have also implemented a second technology partner, Juniper, in the core network – and we are the only global provider to do so. This gives our customers an additional layer of resilience and peace of mind that no other global MPLS VPN provider can do today.”

21C Global Venture: creating the next generation of communication providers

BT’s expertise in next-generation networks brings benefits to other communication providers too. We recently announced the launch of the 21C Global Venture, a business unit that will enable the delivery of next-generation networks to communication providers across the globe. Our experience of rolling out Global 21CN can help other operators implement and accelerate their own next-generation network plans.

The new venture will offer a range of BT 21C Transformation Services, which range from audit and consultancy services through to the full scale implementation and operation of next-generation networks. The first customer to benefit from these services will be Turk Telekom, following a support agreement between BT and Oger Telecom.

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