21C Wholesale Ethernet helps providers meet mobile broadband demands as they go ‘network light’

21^st Century Network technology from BT Wholesale is helping to deliver mobile broadband to a phone or PDA screen near you.

To keep pace with the growing popularity of internet access on the move, T-Mobile and 3 UK have recently signed a five-year managed network services deal with BT Wholesale, through their joint venture company, MBNL.

Effectively we will be improving access and delivery of MBNL's backhaul services by providing reliable and cost-effective high-speed links between 7500 base stations on their consolidated 3G network. This helps both operators to carry increasing volumes of data traffic for their customers as the growth in demand for mobile broadband and other mobile data services continues.

The high-speed links use BT Wholesale Ethernet: the next-generation product that we are rolling out to create what we believe to be the widest national wholesale ethernet footprint in the UK market. It combines the many benefits inherent in ethernet technology - simplicity, flexibility and easy scalability - with the added bonus of the cost efficiencies delivered by a wholesale product on our 21CN platform.

Operators are increasingly looking for better ways to manage capital expenditure around their network and - where possible - to become 'network light'. And T-Mobile and 3 UK aren't alone in recognising the cost-saving advantages of this strategy. Mobile operators, Vodafone and O2 have opted for similar outsourced network agreements with us as they see the economies of scale that another operator can deliver while taking care of their network.

Brian Fitzpatrick, Managing Director - BT Wholesale Markets, comments: "The commitment from the new MBNL joint venture to expand upon our initial separate agreements with T-Mobile and 3 UK underlines the value that our managed network services deliver to our customers. We now support the base station connectivity requirements of four of the five mobile players in the UK market, bringing our economies of scale to a hugely important element of the communications marketplace.

"Achieving revenue growth without the pressures of significant investments in infrastructure expansion is critical for all mobile operators" Brian continues. "Through our 21CN platform, we can help our customers to future-proof their networks and deliver innovative, high-performance services to their own customers."

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Read what you could achieve - for your own operation or for your business customers - with BT Wholesale's Ethernet connectivity solution here.

Or contact your BT Wholesale account management team.