AT&T is the first interexchange service provider to offer ATM switched virtual circuits for high speed service customers.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 1997--AT&T today became the first interexchange service provider to offer Switched Virtual Circuits (SVCs) on its Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) service, enabling AT&T wide area network customers to establish real-time connections to any of the customer's network destinations using a wide range of connection speeds and ATM service classes.

SVCs also enable customers to establish network connections on demand and tailor each connection to a particular network application on a call-by-call basis. When an application completes, the connection is released and freed up for use by other applications. SVCs are a natural extension to ATM premises networks which are primarily SVC-based.

AT&T's SVC offer addresses point-to-point and point-to-multipoint connections at access port speeds of T1 and T3. Currently, AT&T supports Constant Bit Rate (CBR) and Variable Bit Rate Non-Real Time (VBR-NRT) service classes for ATM. The new SVC offer includes these service classes and adds Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR).

"With SVCs, customers benefit from more efficient use of bandwidth, on-demand quality of service and increased network flexibility," said Joe Lueckenhoff, product management vice president for AT&T Data Networking Solutions. "In addition, the use of SVC dynamic connections can provide considerable cost savings over existing PVCs."

Unisys Corp., of Blue Bell, Pa., a leading provider of information management solutions to business and government worldwide, is one of AT&T's key commercial SVC users. Unisys has been using the SVC capabilities since October, 1996, to assess the benefits of using wide-area SVCs within enterprise networks.

"We see significant potential in SVC capabilities," said Bard Haerland, Unisys vice president, Worldwide Telecommunications. "We believe that SVCs can afford the means to deploy high-bandwidth applications according to the needs of our business, rather than forcing us to adjust our business to the capabilities of the network. We feel that the flexibility and responsiveness in enterprise networking yielded by SVCs can have tangible benefits for Unisys' own information management operations."

Unisys Worldwide Telecommunications has conducted its testing against a broad range of business activities over wide-area ATM, including intranet trunking, PBX voice, video conferencing, legacy data transport, and LAN emulation. Testing results have been very positive, successfully integrating with existing enterprise network and showing excellent prospects for a phased introduction of native ATM capabilities.

"This trial period has provided Unisys with a better understanding of the technology, preparing the way for detailed implementation planning," said Haerland.

In addition to the efforts of Unisys Worldwide Telecommunications, Unisys Computer Systems Group has tested new Unisys Clear Path(TM) server products, using AT&T's ATM Network, and they will use SVC capabilities for LAN emulation later this year.

AT&T also offers new itemized billing features for its new SVC service. The SVC offer will be billed on a usage basis. AT&T will continue to bill the existing PVC offer on a flat monthly charge basis.

In response to customer requests, AT&T is also the first interexchange service provider to publish its ATM list pricing. Publicly available list pricing will help customers to budget and plan more efficiently, but AT&T stresses that it is still important for customers to get a complete analysis of their networking needs to help ensure optimal technology fit.

AT&T's list pricing for the existing PVC service is based on class of service and size of the PVCs. List pricing for the newly announced SVC service is based on the ATM call duration, class of service, and the connection size associated with each call. There is a flat monthly port charge based on port speed for each ATM port. Discounted pricing is available based on contract requirement, including volume and term commitments.

SVC pricing for VBR and CBR connections is calculated based on call duration and connection bandwidth. For UBR calls, the charge is based on call duration and traffic volume.

"Our price structure reflects the specific elements associated with ATM Service," added Lueckenhoff. "By selecting the appropriate service class and call rate for a specific application, our customers can bring more consistent service levels to their customers while also managing the associated network costs."

AT&T provides a complete portfolio of remote access, managed network, and internet solutions for a broad range of services including private line and high speed service for frame relay and ATM.

CONTACT: AT&T

David Thompson

908/221-4178 (Business)

800/258-0000, PIN 288-7101 (Pager)

or

Lisa Orlandini for AT&T

908/221-2935 / 212/593-6368 (Business)

800/759-8888, PIN 258-7237 (Pager)