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Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company (PLDT)
PLDT pumps up network with nationwide ATM multi-service technology Fujitsu and WeSolv deploy and service Cisco network equipment
If other big telecommunications carriers take the cue of the Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company (PLDT), information technology-particularly high-speed networking-may soon define competition in the telecomm industry. Dominant carrier PLDT is currently deploying a state-of-the-art nationwide
ATM/Frame Relay Backbone Network using networking giant Cisco Systems' powerful wide area network switches with the help of leading systems integrator, Fujitsu Philippines, Inc. (FPI), and its networking and communications subsidiary, WeSolv Open Computing, Inc.
More than a dozen Cisco BPX wide area network switches will be deployed for PLDT throughout the country by a large contingent of Communications and Networking Engineers from WeSolv.
More accurately called "ATM + IP service nodes," PLDT's state-of-the-art BPX switches use Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cell switching technology and are capable of providing high-speed connections for data, voice, video, and other forms of traffic through a wide variety of network interfaces. The switching nodes are already MPLS-enabled, the latest IP technology in the market that allows unlimited secured VPNs to run in the network. The network is a true "multi-service" network that places PLDT squarely at the forefront of telecommunications.
The BPX's are linked together in a mesh configuration through PLDT's Digital Fiber Optic Network (DFON), thereby assuring PLDT's customers of high-bandwidth and ultra-high reliability.
FPI, through WeSolv, is providing design, engineering, installation, training, maintenance support services and project management to PLDT. Comments George Lim, Senior Vice President and Group Head of the Network Development and Provisioning Group, at PLDT: "The installation of a fully switched multi-service network is vital to fulfilling PLDT's mission to fully satisfy its customers. Apart from being a platform for advanced network services for its customers, PLDT will also use its high-performance ATM/FR + IP to expand its internal network, running applications that improve information sharing within the company and helping it respond to market needs more quickly with high-quality products and services."
"Customers' requirements are becoming more sophisticated," says Felipe Manalang, EVP and GM at FPI. "Network managers then used to ask their telephone company for leased lines to interconnect the company's head office to its branches. Now they are looking to establish connectivity using more cost-effective methods such as frame relay, and are even asking the service provider to assume responsibility for the higher layers of the OSI model." He adds that virtually everyone involved in IT talks about implementing virtual private networks, telecommuting, remote access, Voice over IP, videoconferencing and a host of other exciting technologies spawned by the Internet revolution.
"PLDT realizes that the use of these new technologies will soon explode as companies exploit every possible means to improve communications and increase their ability to generate more business," Manalang stresses. PLDT's new ATM/FR + IP network possesses these winning characteristics: multi-service capability, high bandwidth, high reliability, high port capacity, a wide variety of interfaces, extensive geographic reach, and high visibility and manageability.
WeSolv's EVP and GM, Peter Tan, says: "We are happy that PLDT recognizes the value that Fujitsu brings to the table. Our role is to remain behind the scenes, working quietly to ensure that the PLDT's newly-improved network will provide reliable, high-value services to its customers, and to help PLDT exploit the its full potential through continual feature enhancements and training of its sales and technical force."
