Amsterdam, September 29 1997:
Europe's largest Internet Service Provider EUnet has added a new dimension to the concept of reliability in the ISP market with the introduction of a
pan-European satellite network in conjunction with telecomms provider
Telenor.
With today's business users increasingly relying on the Internet for their
mission-critical data, reliability and guaranteed availability are prime
issues. EUnet's new satellite network, which provides communication links
between the Netherlands and EUnet operations all over Europe, will give
EUnet's customers an unprecedented level of reliability by providing a
second stand-alone network fully independent of EUnet's existing
terrestrial network.
"With this development we have moved the goalposts in backbone engineering
and reliability," explains Per Bilse, Director of Network Engineering and
Operations at EUnet. "While it's considered state of the art to have a
highly redundant network, such networks have failure modes that can be
difficult to control, and true diversity of the underlying infrastructure
is in practice impossible for anybody to guarantee. So what we have done is
to implement a second stand-alone network, and we now have two
independently operational networks; one on the ground and one in the sky.
The increased cost of this is offset by the development of in-house
technology that allows us to seamlessly utilise the satellite-based network
for bulk traffic in normal production."
The deal is also a triumph for Telenor. "This contract represents a major
breakthrough for Telenor in the very competitive Internet Service Provider
market," says Managing Director of Telenor Czech Republic, Knut Hagen.
"EUnet is a challenging customer because of its size and high requirements
for flexible and reliable bandwidth. This project shows that satellite is a
very feasible transmission vehicle for the asymmetrical characteristics of
bulk Internet traffic in the increasingly deregulated telecommunications
markets in Europe."
Comprehensive solution
The contract provides a comprehensive solution for linking up regional
EUnet subsidiaries to one of EUnet's transatlantic Internet pick up points
via satellite. The network uses Intelsat 707 at 1 degree west which is able
to supply coverage from Lisbon to Moscow and from Scandinavia to Morocco.
The main 4.5 metre antenna and hub has a maximum transmit capacity of 200
Mb/s. Current technology allows country connections to be upgraded to a
speed of 28 Mb/s. Though based mainly on NEC technology, the service is
open to communications technology from other vendors. It will be monitored
24 hours a day by Telenor and the EUnet Network Operations Center in
Amsterdam.
Future expansion
The pan European network already covers all the major EUnet operations and
will continue to expand to cover more new countries in the near future.
EUnet is also continuing to search for even wider satellite solutions to
provide such connectivity beyond Europe
About EUnet
Established in 1982 and the first European provider of services for
business use, EUnet was instrumental in creating Europe's Internet
infrastructure. Today, EUnet International provides one-stop shopping for
corporate Internet access in Europe with a network of 42 countries and over
400 PoPs (Points of Presence). Via its transit-free backbone, EUnet
International offers the business community a wide range of turnkey
solutions from full-service, centrally-managed connectivity and Intranets
to mobile access, Web Storefront and Electronic Commerce solutions.
About Telenor
Based in Oslo, Norway and with subsidiaries throughout Europe, Telenor
Satellite Services offers extensive telecommunications services for
businesses around the globe, including point- to-point, point-to-multipoint
and data broadcast services. Via its Inmarsat activities based on the Eik
coast earth station in Norway, Telenor Satellite Services is the worlds
largest operator within the Inmarsat System. It is also one of Europe's
three largest distributors of TV channels via satellite. And is the owner
of 2 direct broadcast satellites with a total capacity of more than 90
digital TV channels. Telenor has over 20 years of experience in the area
of satellite communications, being the first satellite operator in Europe
to implement satellite into the public phone network in Norway back in 1976
For further information contact:
Helen Miller,Press Relations
EUnet International B.V.
Singel 540
1017 AZ Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)20-530 53 33
Fax: +31 20 625 5913
E-mail: Media@EU.net
Web site: http://www.EU.net/
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Knut Hagen, Managing Director
Telenor Czech Republic
V sadech 4/15
160 00 Praha 6
Czech Republic
Tel: +4202 311 9771
Fax: +4202 311 8217
E-mail: kha@telenor.cz
Web site: http://www.telenor.cz/
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