NTL Business installs IP-VPN at academic campus in Northern Ireland.

M2 PRESSWIRE-12 November 2002-NTL Business: NTL Business installs IP-VPN at academic campus in Northern Ireland (C)1994-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:11122002

* Belfast Institute becomes Northern Ireland's first academic campus to converge voice and data over single IP infrastructure

* NTL Business signs contract worth more than GBP1m over five years

* IP solution delivers state-of-the-art technology and reduced costs

NTL Business, a leading local and national provider of integrated business communications, announced a contract worth over GBP1 million to supply an IP VPN (Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network) to the Belfast Institute of Further & Higher Education (BIFHE).

The IP network is being installed at BIFHE's new GBP20 million Millfield campus and will allow the Institute to run voice, data and even video over a single network. It is designed to simplify network management and maintenance, while significantly reducing costs.

With provision for up to 1,000 users and access points in computer rooms and offices throughout the campus, students and teachers spread all over the campus will be able to make and receive calls in the way that people in the same building can speak on an internal network, and therefore for free. The network will also offer a host of new applications and benefits that weren ' t previously available, including a Unified Messaging solution, enabling teachers and students to receive their emails, voicemails and faxes in a single ' In Box '.

Alan Dummigan, Director of Learning and Teaching Resources, BIFHE, commented: " NTL Business is the long-term communications partner for BIFHE. It delivers cutting edge technology and the highest service quality that backs up our commitment to being a top educational establishment in Ireland. The NTL Business team has proved emphatically that it has the skills and expertise to help move the Institute forward and provide even more innovative services to students, teachers and the local community. " David Wills, IP Portfolio Manager, NTL Business said, " BIFHE is a great example of how to make the most of the technology we have available to us today. The solution BIFHE has selected enables it to cut costs and improve the services available to its staff, customers, students and teachers today." NTL Business has worked with BIFHE since 1996, when it installed a Wide Area Network (WAN) linking all of the college ' s campuses throughout the city.

More on NTL:

* NTL Business is a leading national and local provider of integrated business communications. Customers include Tesco, Comet, AT&T and Orange. NTL Business offers a broad range of technologies and resources to provide complete multi-service solutions for businesses from large corporations to local companies.

* In the UK, over 1 million business premises and 11 million homes are located within NTL's fibre-optic broadband network. It covers nearly 50% of the UK, including London, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, Cambridge, Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast.

CONTACT: Anna Miller/Will Curphey, Nelson Bostock Tel: +44 (0)20 7229 4400 Fax: +44 (0)20 7792 7431 e-mail: will.curphey@nelsonbostock.com WWW: http://www.nelsonbostock.com Tanya Pryke-Smith, NTL Tel: +44 (0)1256 753 978 Fax: +44 (0)1256 752 225 e-mail: tanya.pryke-smith@ntl.com WWW: http://www.ntl.com

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