Business News - Sprint Expands Wholesale Data Products, Managed Services

Posted: 04/2001

Sprint Expands Wholesale Data Products,
Managed Services
By Tara Seals

Sprint Corp. (www.sprint.com) announced a
new portfolio of "Extreme IP" data products and managed services for
its wholesale customers during CompTel’s 20th Anniversary Conference in Orlando,
Fla.

The products, which includes dial-up, dedicated and burstable IP capacity,
ATM and frame relay, shared, dedicated and custom web hosting, and managed
network services, previously were available only on a retail basis.

In addition to expanded products and services via its intelligent meshed
"ION" network, Sprint will offer wholesale customers e-business
back-office tools and a dedicated sales team.

Vice president of Sprint’s Wholesale Services Division Art MacDowell
explains, "By offering expanded data products and new managed services,
Sprint is anticipating its wholesale customers’ needs and delivering the tools
they need to compete."

According to Sprint, the wholesale customer can now expand product lines in a
cost-effective manner. For example, carriers or resellers could employ Sprint’s
web hosting rather than investing time and capital to develop their own
solutions.

A dedicated sales force also has been assigned to support the new products.
It will help carriers create a customized solutions for their own requirements,
Sprint says.

"Customers expect more than just access, they are demanding a single
point of contact for end-to-end voice and data solutions," says MacDowell.

Sprint back-office tools also will be made available on a wholesale basis.
Customers can use the DeskTop Manager to view services online, add new services
and view their account structure round-the-clock, via the Internet.

To provide the expanded services, Sprint says it will leverage existing core
competencies including:

Sprint wholesale customers also will be able to gain from the company’s VoIP
and Sprint ION broadband portfolio. The "Extreme IP" rollout follows
an announcement that Sprint will deploy software on Lucent Technologies Inc.’s (www.lucent.com)
Stinger DSL platform, allowing Sprint to provision a DSL network route in order
to reduce service-delivery times. The carrier will implement the DSL voice and
data solution in more than 1,000 central offices via its ION network.