UUNET, an MCI WorldCom company and a global leader in Internet communications solutions, has introduced a dedicated Internet access service to provide the ability to meet temporary peaks in business activity. The tiered service allows customers to raise bandwidth in steps from 64kbps to 2MB on one highly resilient link as their business needs for faster, higher volume data transfer change. The new UUdirect Tiered service is aimed at reflecting in the Internet service to accompany the fact that business can be seasonal and associated with significant temporary increases in data transfer.
The new service takes advantage of UUNET's investment in state-of-the-art customer network access management facilities, the high bandwidth capacity of its UK network backbone and dedicated fibre connections that give a business fully guaranteed and scalable bandwidth in both directions.
Traditionally, leased lines have been available in fixed bandwidth ranges, making it necessary for a business to acquire more bandwidth than may be needed to cope with these seasonal peaks. UUdirect Tiered service addresses this with flexible billing options in tiers ranging from 64kbps to 2MB. This includes, for the first time, a new step at 1MBPS. UUNET plans future developments to provide tiered services in suitable ranges beyond 2MBPS in due course.
Unlike a conventional leased line, a UUdirect Tiered customer is allocated a dedicated 2MB bandwidth link. The customer then chooses to utilise as much of this 2MB bandwidth as current Internet activity requires. Bandwidth can be easily and quickly upgraded from tier to tier within 24 working hours. This can allow for permanent growth in business or faster customer access speeds; or for a short -term promotion where a business is expecting more Internet traffic. The service comes with UUNET¹s 100% Service Level Agreement.
Pricing for the service includes a one-off fee to install a 2MB line. Monthly charges vary depending on the amount of bandwidth that the business uses. There is no transfer charge for moving between each bandwidth tier, other than the customer will be billed for using more of their bandwidth allocation. Typically the cost of a UUdirect Tiered service in, for example, London, with 64k enabled, and including a managed router will cost from £524 pcm.
Joe Clift, marketing director, UUNET, said: "If a customer is uncertain about their bandwidth requirements the only option to date has been to buy more than they need on an annual basis. That can be an expensive waste of resource and still may not be enough capacity when the time comes.
"Our tiered service means a business can now plan and pay for their Internet usage much more sensibly and within a bandwidth range that provides plenty of head room. Bandwidth capacity can be increased as the business demands. As a result, UUNET customers can grow their online business rather than worrying about their Internet connection."
