Global Crossing completes first pan-European broadband network
Global Crossing Ltd (NYSE:GX) announced the final phase of its 25,000 km European backbone network -- and Europe's biggest broadband platform -- with the connection of Madrid and Barcelona to its Spanish ring.
The creation of a broadband European platform, connecting 47 cities and linked to Global Crossing's wider 160,000 route km global network, is a significant step in the expansion of Global Crossing's European business into key commercial sectors.
Global Crossing, which offers integrated services over an extensive, global IP-based fibre optic network, also announced the connection of Geneva to the Lyon-Zurich ring, linking one of the main European business centers with the rest of the world.
With its European backbone deployed, Global Crossing is expanding its metropolitan access network in Europe as part of its commitment to provide building-to-building connectivity worldwide. Six city rings are operational in London, Frankfurt, Paris Amsterdam, Milan and Brussels and rings in Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin, Hamburg, Madrid and Zurich are due to go live in 2001.
Global Crossing's European network supports the launch of the Media & Entertainment Markets business and continued growth in the key financial markets, government and multi-national corporations (MNCs) -- the sectors that underpin Global Crossing's strategy and stand to benefit most from the company's global service capability.
In the "next-gen" services space, Global Crossing recently added six Voice over IP (VoIP) gateway centers in Europe, enabling the company to carry voice as IP traffic to the US. The carrier-class VoIP platform is expected to have a capacity of more than two billion minutes per month by the end of 2001. In addition, the company claims to be the first IP carrier to implement Multi Protocol Label Switching-traffic engineering as a backbone transport technology on a global basis. This provides customers with carrier-grade, quality of service over its entire backbone and allows more efficient use and protection of bandwidth -- key for the support of new IP-based services, particularly IP-VPNs.
To support the global network and its wholesale and retail customers worldwide, Global Crossing has established two customer service centers: the Global Customer Care Centre (GCCC) in Montreal and the Global Customer Service Centre (GCSC) in London.
The connection of Madrid and Barcelona to the rest of Europe and the global network is the first phase of the 3,200-route kilometer Spanish ring. By the end of 2001, the ring will extend to Bordeaux, Bilboa and Valencia. According to the company, establishing points of presence in Madrid and Barcelona positions Global Crossing as the first global operator to have a network presence in these two key cities. The first group of customers on the Spanish ring include Cable & Wireless and Telecomm Italia.
March this year marked the completion of the Scandinavian Ring, which apparently positioned Global Crossing as the first operator to connect Denmark, Sweden and Norway to Europe, North and South America and Asia. In October 2000, the Southern and Irish terrestrial rings added a further 3,611 km to the European network.
Connecting European countries and business centers also enables Global Crossing to target global outsourcing business, the focus of the newly launched Global Solutions division.
Global Crossing's position in the financial markets sector has been endorsed through a contract worth $300 million to provide SWIFT with an IP-VPN connecting more than 7,000 financial institutions in 190 countries worldwide. Global Crossing claims to have a 50 percent world market share for financial trading systems.
In April, Global Crossing established itself in the Media & Entertainment sector, marked by a strategic alliance with BBC Technology Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the BBC. This agreement brings Global Crossing's seamless fibre optic infrastructure together with BBC Technology's systems integration expertise in the digital and Internet broadcast environment. Global Crossing's seamless global infrastructure and customized secure solutions will enable the multi-billion dollar media industry to create, collaborate, store and distribute multimedia digital content.
About Global Crossing:
Global Crossing Ltd. (NYSE: GX) provides telecommunications solutions over the an integrated global IP-based network. For more information, visit www.globalcrossing.com or www.asiaglobalcrossing.com.