SMDS (Switched Multimegabit Data Service) is a high-speed, broadband, packet switched, wide-area network (WAN) service.
Telecom Italia is using AT&T BNS 2000 Broadband Switches to build a nationwide broadband network that will give business customers affordable, high speed and reliable data services.
Telecom Italia's service network, called C-LAN, will allow customers to link their multiple corporate networks over a public network service to perform as one seamless, "virtual" private network (VPN). C-LAN will use Frame Relay and Switched Multi-Megabit Data Service (SMDS) connectivity to support various business applications in the banking, manufacturing, transportation and R&D sectors.
The AT&T BNS 2000 Broadband Switch uses the ITU Frame Relay standard, a data transport service that offers a reliable, cost-effective end-to-end solution for information-intensive local-area and wide-area network applications. Frame relay service allows a network operator to provide business customers with a virtual private network capability over the public network, giving customers all the benefits of a dedicated private network at relatively lower costs.
"Telecom Italia's deployment of a nationwide BNS-2000 Frame Relay network will provide our business customers with reliable, higher-speed connectivity for broadband applications and will be the base for the creation of new, advanced services," said Claudio Brosco, Director, Network Development, Telecom Italia Business Customer division.
"Business customers expect "LAN like" performance from a public wide area network (WAN) and managed services, and we are now in a position to do that," he said.
Telecom Italia's C-LAN will give business customers higher speed connectivity for broadband applications while also providing access to traditional applications and data protocols which may already exist in the customer's environment. These include synchronous and asynchronous transport and the X.25 packet-switching protocols. The BNS-2000-based network will also provide a flexible migration path from frame relay and SMDS to Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) based services, ensuring customers' current investments.
Under the terms of the agreement with Telecom Italia, AT&T will provide several BNS 2000 Broadband Switches for deployment at key sites around Italy. For this project, AT&T Network Systems International will work with its long time partner Italtel S.I.T. which will handle the installation and field support services for the network.
The AT&T StarKeeper II Network Management System platform will provide full, network management capability including fault, performance, configuration, security and billing management. From a centralised location, it is possible to control and manage not only the elements of the network, but the network access systems at the customer's premises through the use of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
Telecom Italia's nationwide frame relay network will be fully operational by August 1995.
"With full liberalization of the European telecommunications market just around the corner," Brosco said, "we intend to be prepared to offer a full range of services to our customers. We want to be the first choice in our customers' mind when they consider their information technology needs."
AT&T Network Systems International, based in Hilversum, the Netherlands, is AT&T's European sales, research and development, manufacturing and supply company for telecommunications solutions. The company serves network operators and service providers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with products, technologies and a range of professional services for end-to-end telecommunications solutions. Products include switching and transmission equipment, operations and management systems, and wireless and cable systems.