New Corporate Broadband Offering Combines DSL, Dial and Mobile Wireless Access into One Offering
Atlanta, Ga., N+I, September 26, 2000 - UUNET, a WorldCom Company and a global leader in Internet communications solutions, today announced Access Choice, an offering that combines the company's premiere DSL, broadband mobile wireless and dial access services into one integrated offering. Designed to meet the needs of all remote users, travelling or telecommuting, the service marks the first time in which organizations can offer employees a complete combination of dial and broadband remote access services in one package that is easy to administer and support.
"Combining three dependable, high-performance access services into one account for corporate users truly enables the remote employee, whether they are a telecommuter or a road warrior," said Bob Hartnett, president & CEO, global accounts and UUNET. "Access Choice brings together these services with an easy-to-use centralized management tool and takes the complications out of keeping employees connected. This new service offering is bringing remote access to the next level by keeping the needs of today's telecommuter and mobile employees at the forefront of business."
Service Details
Access Choice combines the corporate versions of the following access services:
- UUmobile SM
128, a broadband mobile wireless service that operates at 128 Kbps speeds and utilizes Metricom's Ricochet wireless infrastructure currently being deployed nationwide, coupled with the UUNET global Internet network, one of the most robust, reliable and rigorously engineered networks in the world. UUmobile 128 allows the remote user to be completely untethered with access to all of the Internet at 128 Kbps. This service is currently being deployed and is scheduled to be available in the fourth quarter of this year in six or more major cities. - UUlink SM
DSL Corporate, a broadband Digital Subscriber Line service available at 128 Kbps, 384 Kbps, 768 Kbps and 1 Mbps speeds. UUlink DSL Corporate is UUNET's business-class, nationwide DSL service for corporate telecommuter users. UUlink DSL is currently available in more than 50 markets in the United States. - UUdial SM
Corporate, a premiere business-quality dial access service offered at 56 Kbps and 128 Kbps ISDN speeds. The corporate version of UUdial offers business-class dial access through more than 1.7 million modem ports on five continents.
Access Choice is also available with UUsecure VPN SM , an end-to-end fully managed VPN service built on standards-based Internet Protocol. The UUsecure VPN solution as well as personal firewalls can be easily integrated with Access Choice for customers who require a more secure connection to their remote and telecommuting users.
"Corporations are interested in providing comprehensive broadband access for remote employees and teleworkers," said Steve Harris, senior research analyst, ISP Markets, International Data Corporation. "Given the sporadic availability of various broadband services around the country, a carrier that can provide a wide variety of broadband access options will have an edge in providing such services to the business marketplace."
Customer Features and Benefits
Access Choice is a turnkey solution designed to allow all phases of service turn-up and support to be easily administered from a central location. The central administrative interface, Enterprise Service Management (ESM), allows easy pre-qualification of potential users to determine availability of wireless, DSL and dial services. For example, a systems administrator could submit 1,000 potential users for coverage. ESM would respond by detailing which of the 1,000 users qualifies for DSL or mobile wireless or ISDN as access options in addition to analog dial. The administrator then uses ESM to define access types and set up accounts for all users. Access Choice provides one account per end-user, combining any or all of the access types.
Access Choice allows UUNET dial users to add DSL and/or mobile wireless access to their dial access option while still only maintaining one account. As end-users change, the system administrator uses ESM to add, change or delete users. As an integrated product, Access Choice provides one point of contact for all install and support aspects of the service. For end-users of Access Choice, UUNET's Phone Access Look Up (PAL) software serves as a common PC interface; it includes an extensive dialer and phonebook for dial-up services and direct access into the DSL and mobile wireless services.
This service is the first Internet access product that truly gives organizations the flexibility and set of tools to provide the best dial or broadband remote access solution for all employees, in a way that is easy to administer. A real world example would be a telecommuter who occasionally travels This user could have a combination of services through one Access Choice account utilizing broadband mobile wireless or dial access from the road and DSL access from home.
Customer Testimonial
UUNET is currently conducting Access Choice beta trials with Novell, Inc., the leading provider of Net services software.
"UUNET is helping to develop mobile Internet services and technologies that will help accelerate the adoption of ebusiness in a one Net economy," said Ken Anderson, chief information officer for Novell. "Providing our highly mobile employees with the fastest possible remote access solution is key to their success and productivity. We look forward to working with UUNET as they roll-out this service throughout the U.S."
Pricing and Availability
Access Choice is priced per user, per month based on the number of service options chosen. A typical example would be dial with DSL at $90 per month, a savings of 10 percent if the two services were purchased separately. Another example would be, dial with mobile wireless also $90 per month, also a savings of 10 percent.
Access Choice with the dial and mobile wireless options can be ordered now for service in Atlanta and San Diego. The nationwide DSL access option and the additional set of six or more markets for mobile wireless will be available by the end of this year. In early 2001, the company expects to expand its mobile wireless service to 21 cities, and then to 46 cities in mid-2001.
About UUNET, a WorldCom Company
UUNET (www.uu.net), a WorldCom Company and a global leader in Internet communications solutions, offers a comprehensive range of Internet services to businesses, online service providers and telecommunications firms. WorldCom (NASDAQ: WCOM) is a global leader in "all-distance" communications services with operations in more than 65 countries. Revenues in 1999 were $37 billion, with more than $15 billion from high-growth data, Internet and international services. WorldCom provides facilities-based and fully integrated services to facilitate e-business and e-commerce in the digital generation. For more information go to http://www.wcom.com.
