TMCnet News
BellSouth, Sprint Nextel Partner for Nationwide MPLS NetworkBy TED GLANZER
TMCnet Communications and Broadband Columnist
Determined not to be left in the figurative dust of its brethren RBOCs, BellSouth Corp. announced on Monday that it has entered into an agreement with Sprint Nextel Corp. to provide MPLS data services to businesses nationwide.
Instead of following fellow RBOCs SBC and Verizon and pulling off a multi-billion merger, BellSouth chose instead to partner with Sprint to access its nationwide MPLS network. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. BellSouth said that its new service, which is expected to launch sometime during the first quarter of 2006, will link multi-location businesses to its private IP network backbone in the southeastern United States and with Sprint's MPLS network located in other regions.
With SBC and Verizon closing in on receiving final approval for their respective proposed mega mergers (SBC with AT&T, Verizon with MCI), it was clear that BellSouth had to do something to hold on to its customer base and to remain competitive in the future.
"The bottom line is that we want to be the premier data provider for the customers we serve," BellSouth spokesperson Todd Smith told TMCnet. "[BellSouth's customers] want to use our data network beyond the borders of our traditional region . . . It also allows us to compete as well as any of the national providers in the data space . . . especially the enterprise space."
Telecom industry analyst Jeff Kagan agrees.
"This new nationwide MPLS data service will immediately increase BellSouth's addressable customer base and will strategically position them to more effectively attract and retain large business customers," Kagan said in a statement.
Now that BellSouth, SBC and Verizon have lined up their respective partners, all eyes again turn to the remaining RBOC, Qwest, which lost out in its effort to acquire MCI to Verizon’s lower bid.
Nevertheless, Qwest has made its intentions known that it is looking to strengthen its position as a national communications service provider. With the BellSouth/Sprint agreement, the pickings are decidedly slimmer.
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Ted Glanzer is assistant editor for TMCnet. For more articles by Ted Glanzer, please visit:
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