AT&T Debuts Dedicated Internet Access Services; Plans to Upgrade Backbone to OC-192

At the annual AT&T Data Networking Forum in Orlando, FL, the New York-based company said that it plans to offer two new high speed dedicated Internet access services using OC-3 (155 Mbps) and OC-12 (622 Mbps) facilities. Both services will have a 60-day provisioning guarantee. Also, the company will begin upgrading its Internet backbone to OC- 192 in the first half of 2000. Additionally, AT&T will begin to offer SONET OC-192 private line service in the fourth quarter of 1999.

The OC-3 and OC-12 dedicated Internet access services will be supported by service level agreements for availability, performance, latency, and provisioning. Along with a 99.9% availability guarantee, 80 millisecond round trip latency guarantee, and 1% or less packet loss per month, AT&T will also guarantee—with certain geographic and other restrictions—that these high speed services will be provisioned within 60 days of a customer completing the required contractual and technical documents. AT&T's OC-3 and OC-12 dedicated Internet access services will be in controlled introduction in the fourth quarter of 1999 with general availability targeted for the first half of 2000. The 60-day provisioning guarantee will be effective when the services are made generally available.

Backbone Upgrade
With the implementation of its OC-48 IP backbone upgrade well under way, the company will continue to expand the capacity of its IP network to OC-192. Integration of the new OC-192 links into the IP backbone will begin in the first half of 2000. AT&T will also begin to offer SONET OC-192 private line service in the fourth quarter of 1999. This private line service will be targeted to ISPs and other leading edge customers and will have the flexibility to support IP as well as other voice, video, and traditional data networking applications.