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Networks & Infrastructure
AT&T To Spend US$750 Million On Global IP
Emerging Market Growth Spurs Doubling Of Annual Investment
by Iain Morris
US-based operator AT&T today announced that it will invest more than US$750 Million this year in its global IP network and solutions for the enterprise market. With so many column inches devoted to its IPTV offer (see AT&T’s Last Foot Adventure), AT&T is obviously keen to send out a message that it is not neglecting the IP needs of its business customers.
“This program, which represents a significantly higher level of investment over 2006, reflects AT&T’s determination to maintain its lead in serving the needs of our customers globally,” says Dick Anderson, group president of global business services.
In fact, AT&T spent just half that sum last year, according to John Slamecka, vice president for the EMEA region.
Speaking with Telecommunications®, Slamecka says that growth in emerging markets is one of the main reasons for doubling expenditure this year.
“We’re seeing year-on-year [revenue] growth in the 40 to 50 percent range,” he says. “We’ll be adding more nodes in the Middle East and expanding into Asia.”
The operator also plans to roll out new network nodes in Vietnam, Pakistan, Malaysia, Morocco and India. By the end of the year, it aims to provide MPLS-based access from a total of 155 countries, up from 137 now.
But investments are also being made on the service side as part of what Slamecka calls a ‘two-pronged’ strategy. “We’re seeing double-digit [revenue] growth in core products, like VPNs in Europe,” he says. “I see that continuing over the next couple of years and being accelerated by a lot of the new things we’re delivering in the product portfolio.”
That includes a commitment to managed IT services – a relatively new area for telcos. “Companies are looking for more value from service providers,” says Slamecka, in explaining the rationale behind the move.
Playing down the risks of going head to head against IT firms like IBM and Hewlett Packard, Slamecka says that managed IT services will become increasingly important to AT&T in the future as VNOs (see Vanco Seals Three New VNO Deals ) attempt to encroach on its territory.
“As pricing stabilises a lot of VNOs will have to start looking for new value propositions,” he says. “They will not be able to deliver the value-added services on the networks because they don’t own them. They’re simply not able to deliver a lot of the solutions required by the top 500 multinationals.”
Additional Information:
AT&T’s Last Foot Adventure
Aggressive timeline targets 19 million homes.
Vanco Seals Three New VNO Deals
MNCs See Benefits Of ‘Asset-Lite’ Approach
AT&T And City Of Napa, CA Ink Wi-Fi Agreement
Wireless Network To Provide Broadband Access For All
AT&T Gets Global Contract Worth Nearly $1 Billion From GM
AT&T Now Strategic Supplier for Next-Gen Telecom Services
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