UUNET brings to Switzerland the most widely deployed internet network in the world
MCI WorldCom company launches Internet retail operation in Switzerland. Fairfax (VA)/Zurich, January 26, 1999. - UUNET, an MCI WorldCom Company and a global leader in Internet communications solutions, today announces the launch of its retail operation in Switzerland, bringing its high-quality Internet technology and products to the Swiss business community. This is in line with an aggressive commercial strategy aimed at establishing UUNET's presence in all of the most significant international markets.
From its current Points of Presence (POPs) in Zurich and Geneva- and future POPs in Basle and Bern, UUNET will provide a comprehensive range of high-speed dedicated Internet access options, both locally and globally, to businesses, online service providers and telecommunications firms in key Swiss cities. Local customer and help desk support will be offered to all Swiss customers.
UUNET will provide local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with access to the most comprehensive Internet infrastructure in the world - a global network consisting of over 1000 POPs, and connecting more than 70,000 business customers in more than 76 countries world-wide. As one of the few ISPs to own and run a global Internet network end-to-end, UUNET is able to provide industry leading quality of service to its customers. UUNET supplies Internet access to 75% of the "Times Top 100" companies.
The opening of UUNET Switzerland also demonstrates an ongoing commitment to Europe, the company having just completed the first phase of a massive upgrade of its European network: In the last six months of 1998, UUNET increased its intra-European network capacity over seven-fold from 400 megabits per second (Mbps) to almost 3,000 Mbps. UUNET invests $1 million a day in its Internet backbone.
"Now that it is firmly established as one of the most important global Internet operators, UUNET is launching its corporate retail operation to better support business customers in Switzerland", said Kai von Ludwig, International Business Development Manager, UUNET Switzerland.
He continues: "UUNET's mission in Switzerland is not only to provide high-quality connections, but also to be the best Internet operator for the professional market and offer companies innovative services which allow them to benefit from the best development opportunities connected to the Internet. In 1999, we are launching a range of new products, such as dial, web hosting, firewalls and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bring advanced value added network services to our customers in Switzerland".
Said Pat Chapman-Pincher, Senior Vice-President, UUNET International: "Forty percent of UUNET European traffic now stays within Europe, reflecting the rapid growth in demand for Internet services in Europe. As national boundaries for business and commerce disappear, the advantages of one supplier with one network become increasingly apparent. Customers in Switzerland demand that the Internet delivers the reliable quality of service they expect and require. We are confident that UUNET will provide this".
UUNET's Swiss operations leverage the local presence of its parent company, MCI WorldCom which is a fully licensed local and international telecommunications operator in Switzerland. The company has built a fibre optic network in Zurich which is directly connected to the company's global, facilities-based network. In addition to offering sophisticated, high capacity backbone services to telecommunications intensive customers in Zurich, MCI WorldCom offers businesses throughout Switzerland competitive long distance telephony services via an interconnect with Swisscom.
