News16 June 2009
Recognised for innovative use of Carrier Ethernet technology to deploy a Wide Area Network (WAN) through Europe.
Colt and Nokia Siemens Networks jointly won the Global Telecoms Business (GTB) award for Fixed Network Infrastructure Innovation. The companies were recognised for their pioneering use of Carrier Ethernet to roll out a 25,000 km Wide Area Network through Europe. Powered by Nokia Siemens Networks industry leading A-series family of Carrier Ethernet switches, Colt built a Multi Service Platform (MSP) transport system to seamlessly connect European businesses and government to its fibre network.
"The development of Ethernet technology is evolving rapidly and customer demand continues to grow," commented Dr Alireza Mahmoodshahi, Chief Technology Officer, Colt. "In the last year we have successfully deployed our Next Generation Carrier Ethernet platform giving us the ability to enhance our services further with faster provisioning times, greater flexibility and new features for customers."
Colt was looking for a solution that would help extend its leadership of carrier Ethernet. The requirement was to build a Multi Service Platform with superior performance, network and service level scalability, and lower operating costs. The Nokia Siemens Networks A-series family of Carrier Ethernet switches managed by the carrier-class ASPEN software suite (management and provisioning platform) gave Colt a complete end-to-end solution.
"This innovation is not just about cost-saving, but about making the highest levels of service performance possible," added Andy Tempest, Customer Team Head for UK operators, Nokia Siemens Networks. "The crux was our industry leading Carrier Ethernet switches which complemented Colts technical and marketing vision to truly create differentiated value for their customers."
The GTB Innovation Awards, organised by the Global Telecoms Business magazine, are designed to showcase innovative projects involving telecom operators and service providers around the world, in association with their vendors and suppliers. The Innovation Awards 2009 were held in London with winners honoured at a specially organised dinner on June 16, 2009.
Colt has achieved the highest certification in the field of Ethernet. The Colt Ethernet portfolio received MEF certification in September 2006. We've also won a host of industry awards for our Ethernet services. These have included in 2008, for the fourth year in a row, the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) Service Provider of the Year for outstanding innovation. Plus, the Frost & Sullivan Customer Leadership Award.
