Data WAN Services (U.K.)

Product Assessment reports from Current Analysis provide a timely and in-depth evaluation on how leading products and services in a market measure up to their competition. Updated regularly by our industry-leading analysts, the reports deliver an objective and un-biased look at a product's strengths and weaknesses, ratings on how well the product meets specific customer buying criteria, and relevant product metrics. Compare selected products with side-by-side listings of product metrics and other factors, with a focus on actionable intelligence.

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IP Connect, Ethernet Connect

BT sells a wide array of data WAN services, which it can back with robust applications performance management and WAN optimisation. On-net reach is a clear strength, and the carrier offers a compelling legacy migration leveraging EFM and FTTC. (12/13/2011)

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Cable&Wireless Worldwide IP VPN QoS, Ethernet Wireline, Ethernet VPN

Cable&Wireless Worldwide offers a strong portfolio of government-accredited data WAN services in the UK. It provides sophistication and proven Layer 2 Ethernet and Layer 3 IP/MPLS service, but has smaller on-net access compared to BT. (12/20/2011)

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Colt LANLink, Colt EPN and Colt IP VPN

Colt remains a strong contender for data WAN services in the UK based on a proven range of Layer 2 Ethernet VPN services and IP VPN, plus value added features. Some UK competitors, such as BT and Virgin, have stronger on-net reach. (12/20/2011)

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KCOM IP VPN Corporate

Kcom provides attractive managed service expertise, and its partnership with BT Wholesale gives it strong UK reach. Kcom offers a strong customer service message and advanced integration skills alongside features such as WAN optimisation. (12/16/2011)

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Virgin Media Business National Ethernet; MPLS IP VPN

Virgin Media Business offers comprehensive Layer 2 Ethernet and IP VPN data WAN products and is backed by the largest nationwide UK alternative carrier network. The carrier can look to improve its applications performance management suite. (12/20/2011)

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Top

• Current Analysis Perspective
• Product Strengths & Weaknesses
• Product Point and Counterpoint
• Product Buying Criteria
• Product Metrics

• Network Performance and Reach
  • The ability of an operator to provide end-to-end connectivity over a choice of various network technologies including IP and Ethernet supporting different ports speeds over a large on-net footprint is a key buying criteria for enterprise customers.
• Portfolio and Features
  • A broad range is more competitive, including for example IP VPN, E-Line and E-LAN, and hybrid L2/L3 VPNs. Other compelling features might include bandwidth on demand and burstable bandwidth, consistent monitoring across Ethernet and IP VPN, security and multiple CoS.
• Service Level Agreements and Pricing
  • Consistent SLAs covering both on-net and off-net performance of the network, such as latency, jitter, packet-loss, and availability, are important for clients seeking to distinguish the most appropriate offer; and to give a sense of operator-accountability in case of any service issues.

• Network
  • PoP Coverage
  • Ethernet MANs
  • National Reach
  • Infrastructure
  • Backbone Capacity
  • Architecture
  • Access Options
  • Port Speeds
• Portfolio
  • Range
  • Fully-managed/unmanaged
  • Applications
  • Resilience
  • Applications Performance/Acceleration
  • Dynamic Bandwidth
  • Security
  • CoS
  • Pricing
  • Online Monitoring
  • Monthly Reporting
• SLA
  • Proactive/Reactive
  • Metro and National Availabilities
  • Guarantee PoP-to-PoP/CPE-to-CPE
  • Latency
  • Packet Delivery
  • Mean-Time-To-Repair
  • Provisioning Lead Times