Sprint has expanded its global MPLS network capabilities with network-to-network interface (NNI) partnerships and has introduced the industry’s first standard end-to-end MPLS VPN SLA as part of its global network.
As part of Sprint's global MPLS expansion, the company is working with regional and global service providers to form NNI partnerships. According to Sprint, the partnerships will provide seamless connectivity and maintain traffic prioritization settings across Sprint’s network. For example, the company’s partnership with Canada-based Rogers Business Solutions, the business unit of Rogers Communications, will enable Rogers’ MPLS nodes to connect with the Sprint IP/MPLS backbone so customers experience congestion-free connectivity with security, redundancy and QoS.
"While we continue to invest a great deal in our IP network, partnering through the MPLS NNI strategy is more cost- and time-effective for both our customers and Sprint," said Dan Dooley, vice president of international business for Sprint. "We have simplified decision making and implementation for our customers as their single point of contact for worldwide communications needs. Partner MPLS capabilities become an extension of Sprint's network and businesses can experience the same high-quality performance and service they have come to expect from Sprint."
Sprint expects to announce later in the year similar MPLS NNI partnerships throughout Europe, Asia and South America. Through its MPLS NNI partnership strategy, Sprint plans to expand coverage to 163 countries by the end of 2006.
Additionally, Sprint’s service extends SLA coverage and reporting beyond the backbone network and includes the local loop. The service level guarantees include a 100 percent network availability SLA, standard end-to-end packet loss and jitter SLAs, and a standard end-to-end delay methodology applicable across Sprint’s backbone. Sprint also is simplifying and bundling its managed services portfolio to help customers migrate to new technologies. Options range from performance-reporting tools to management of a customer’s converged network, including managed migration from legacy data services to an MPLS VPN that can support emerging application needs.
Sprint Nextel Corp. www.sprint.com
