Additionally, atlantic has bundled telephone calls into this service, offering customers up to GBP600 of free calls a year to local and national numbers based on its corporate call plan. Bundling voice with an ‘always on’ data connection offers SMEs the benefit of having a single provider for all voice and data requirements.
ADSL transforms existing analogue telephone lines into high-speed digital links and enables greater Internet download speeds (often up to 36 times faster than standard 56.6Kbit/s modems) than upload speeds at far faster rates than previously available. This makes the technology ideal for situations that require receipt of more data than the amount transmitted, for example, downloading a large graphics file but uploading a smaller text file.
The atlantic ADSL service has been divided into three types, depending on the amount of data communications business customers undertake and the speed of download they require: Access:500 (download 512Kbit/s, upload 256Kbit/s); Access:1000 (download 1Mbit/s, upload 256Kbit/s); and Access:2000 (download 2Mbit/s, upload 256Kbit/s).
Benefits of ADSL include: permanent Internet access 24 hours a day, seven days a week eliminating the need to dial-up; the ability to use the telephone or fax while online; faster web browsing and email access; easy delivery of graphics and multimedia files; stepping stone to introducing e-commerce; ability to run video conferencing thus reducing travel time and costs; and priced on a flat monthly fee enabling more efficient cost control.
Our ADSL service is ideal for companies who want to make the most of data communications to boost business efficiency and growth and by adding in telephone calls too, smaller companies will gain real value for money, said Martin Beard, Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic Telecom Group PLC.
Atlantic fully supports the Government’s plans to connect all SMEs to the Internet by 2002 and our Access options are just the start of a series of services based on digital subscriber line (DSL) technology which we plan to introduce to the UK, concluded Mr Beard.
Atlantic is currently rolling out its DSL network across Europe. Its high-speed SDSL (symmetrical) services are currently available in five German metropolitan areas including Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Dusseldorf and over 331 German exchanges are equipped. Atlantic was also one of the first operators to launch live SDSL testing in France in July 2000 and in The Netherlands, the company will roll out its DSL services through Telepartner Plus BV, a company in which it owns a 65% equity stake, and has already equipped 17 exchanges.
Atlantic is participating in the UK SDSL trials in London and in unbundling. It plans to deploy SDSL in the UK’s major urban areas.
