WorldCom Inc. (www.wcom.com) Internet subsidiary UUNET (www.uu.net) yesterday announced its third VPN service. This one, called UUsecure VPN - Total Access edition, includes both dial-in and dedicated access via a single customer premises box and is integrated with UUNET's web hosting service.
That means customers can now use a single service to connect regular points of communication, like headquarters and a branch office, for example, with dedicated access; and securely tap into sites they need to communicate with via dial-in connections.
Previously announced secure VPN offerings included separate dial-in and direct (site-to-site) options. Like the other VPN services, Total Access includes an IPSec client, which provides a secure way for end users to communicate back to their corporate LAN by creating private "tunnels" over UUNET's shared network. Encryption can also be used with the service.
Other key features of the service, according to Janel Crabtree, UUNET's director of product marketing for VPN products, are the extensive global service level agreements (SLAs) for latency and availability, and its class-based queuing.
SLAs define specific performance thresholds for traffic and what the service provider will do - such as provide a rebate - if those requirements are not met. Class-based queuing allows customers to differentiate their traffic on the network so, for example, they can give higher priority to private applications vs. simple Internet access. Customers typically classify their traffic with UUNET when signing up for the service and UUNET configures software on the router to address those classifications.
UUsecure VPN - Total Access edition also extends the customer's VPN to UUNET's hosting center so the customer can have secure access to any application the carrier may be hosting for them, such as payroll, for example.
In the next six months, UUNET expects to enhance its new service by integrating DSL and wireless access as an addition to the dial-in option. The company also plans to add digital certificates for end user authentication and to tie in the VPN service with directory-enabled services so customers can add new users or requirements to their directories and the VPN will automatically recognize and adopt those changes.
UUsecure VPN - Total Access edition is currently being rolled out on a country-by-country basis starting in the United States this month, expanding to Europe and later to the Asia Pacific region by year's end. U.S. customers will have access to dedicated VPN links in 18 countries including Austria, Australia, Belgium/Luxembourg, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.
Dedicated access options range from ISDN to full capacity T3s/E3s and dial access speeds up to 56kbps.
Pricing for the Total Access dedicated access edition in the U.S. is $595 per month, per site for a 56 kbps connection, $1,895 for T1 rate service and $35,500 per month for T3 (45mbps). The monthly fee includes the CPE, network connectivity, web-enabled reporting, and management and monitoring. A one-time installation fee starts at $595 for 56kbps service and is increases for higher data rate services.
Pricing for the dial component includes $1,500 monthly service fee and a flat rate of $19.95 per month per user or a usage-based fee per user plus a one-time install fee. The monthly service fee includes SLA reporting, 24x7 management and monitoring and maintenance and hosting of the UUNET radius server.
The web hosting option, called Multi-Host NT, is available for an additional $1,095 per month and a one-time installation charge.
