Archive for the ‘Global Crossing’ Category

Expansion is in the Air!

Many leading communications service providers are expanding their networks, and network offerings to meet the needs of both domestic and international customers. Take a look at what’s been going on lately:

Global Crossing Expands Enterprise Network Security Features
Last week, New Jersey-based Global Crossing instituted an enhanced portfolio of enterprise network-geared security capabilities. The new security features include web content filtering, intrusion prevention service, antivirus and anti-spam capabilities as well as a firewall.

Today’s businesses are facing an ever-evolving number of network security threats. Global Crossing’s chief marketing officer, Dave Carey, reported that “Global Crossing recognizes the need to address – in a holistic manner – the entire spectrum of these potentially revenue-impacting attacks.”

In addition, Global Crossing is also employing a new Event Management and Security information platform that generates and posts reports to the customer portal, and offers consulting services that include vulnerability evaluations, penetration testing, security assessments and audits.

TelePacific Expands Ethernet Network
Due to an increasing demand for additional bandwidth, TelePacific Communications is expanding its Ethernet network. The California-based Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) plans to more than double its current 52 Ethernet-over-copper (EoC) wire centers to reach a total number of 120. TelePacific’s VP of marketing, David Zahn, believes that expanding TelePacific’s EoC services is “a great way for us to meet that demand.” In addition to EoC offerings, the expansion will make Ethernet over T1 and Ethernet over DS3 available in every market TelePacific serves.

TelePacific’s comprehensive portfolio of Ethernet transport provides enterprise customers service speeds ranging from 1 Mbps to 1 Gbps – and almost any increment in between. Depending upon the distance from the serving wire center, TelePacific EoC deployment offers data, voice and Internet access speeds that vary from 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps.

XO Expands World-wide Network Services
XO Communications is expanding its international network services capabilities to better address the needs of its growing domestic and international customer base. According to XO, this will include European IP/MPLS IP-VPN nodes, and access to 48 countries throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia/Pacific, and US territories of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam.

The expansion will enable XO to provide carrier and enterprise customers Dedicated Internet Access, MPLS IP-VPN, Private Line and Ethernet services to more locations worldwide. On an international level, it will allow XO to provide more comprehensive universal network coverage for an extensive array of WAN and connectivity solutions.

Posted in Ethernet Service, Global Crossing, Internet T1, Internet T3, MPLS, Private Line, TelePacific, Tier-1 Carrier Networks, XO | No Comments »

Level 3 Communications/Global Crossing $3 Billion Merger

Level 3 Communications is one of only six Tier 1 Internet providers in the world, and currently ranked one of the world’s most connected ISPs. Global Crossing serves 40% of Fortune 500 companies in addition to 700 ISPs, carriers, and mobile operators worldwide.

Over a decade ago, both companies raised billions to build fiber-optic networks around the globe in response to the projected demand for Internet-based services. Then, in 2001 when the telecom industry buckled, both network operators fought to stay afloat amid a slump in demand for capacity, aggressive competition, and heavy debt. As a result, Level 3 managed to avoid a swell of bankruptcies that added to the telecom industry’s estimated $2 trillion loss in market value, but took a big hit; and in the last two years alone, has endured $1.24 billion in combined losses. Global Crossing took a different route and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A year later Global Crossing emerged under a successful reorganization plan and a new 61.5% equity shareholder that remains the largest shareholder to this day.

Now the two companies are planning to join forces.

At the start of this week, Colorado-based Level 3 announced its plan to amalgamate with New Jersey-based Global Crossing in a deal worth approximately $3 billion. The merger between two of the world’s biggest fiber-based communications service providers will take place via a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction. Following regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, the deal is expected to close by year’s end, and gives shareholders of Global Crossing stock 16 shares of Level 3 stock for every Global Crossing stock they possess at closing.

Level 3 has stated that the purchase will help better serve businesses, carriers, governments and providers throughout Europe and the Americas, and will reportedly create a company with connections to over 70 countries, and ownership over networks in more than 50 countries.

According to Level 3’s Chief Financial Officer, Sunit Patel, merging the two companies not only improves their credit profile and balance sheet, but also “accelerates the achievement of Level 3’s target leverage ratio of three to five times debt to Adjusted EBITDA.” Patel went on to say that, in addition to a savings of nearly $2.5 billion, he expects the acquisition “to give us the financial strength to capitalize on the many opportunities available in the global market.”

Posted in General, Global Crossing, Level 3 | No Comments »

Global Crossing Debuts Cloud-Based Solution Set

Global Crossing has debuted the initial phase of its cloud-centric, network-based solution set, Communications as a Service. Communications as a Service (CaaS) provides an ground-breaking, “pay-as-you-grow” set of on-demand capabilities that have the ability to streamline your companys’ understanding of audio conferencing, taking it from several services down to a single, cloud-based service model.

The goal of CaaS is to provide customized, user-friendly, integrated communications enterprise alternatives. CaaS blends Global Crossing Ready Access hosted audio conferencing services with their SIP Trunking (Session Initiated Protocol Trunking), and IP Virtual Private Network (IP VPN) to generate a network-centric platform.

Once combined, these capabilities – along with other features – support the functionality of Global Crossing Connect Mobile. Global Crossing Connect Mobile utilizes a standard API (application programming interface) that allows end-users to host or join a conference by clicking on an emblem found on smart phones and other popular mobile devices, and has the ability to sync meetings with your calendar.

According to Global Crossing’s chief information and technology officer, Anthony Christie, the company’s CaaS is “integral” to their worldwide cloud solution strategy. Christie goes on to explain that it is “a logical extension of our competency in IP networking and collaboration, and addresses the needs of today’s businesses that want to take advantage of network-centric cloud services, while reaping the benefits of a higher quality experience and more simplistic per-seat pricing model.” Christie also states that, succeeding releases will include email, Instant Messaging, and enhanced IT, video, and telephony services.

Global Crossing’s CaaS offers a predictable monthly fee in a shared-seat billing model. Compared to per-minute pricing, shared-seat billing is more simple and foreseeable, and for a set shared-seat fee, CaaS customers have access to limitless audio conferencing minutes. Shared-seat billing increases your business’ overall communications while decreasing your need for business travel and the time and costs associated with it, and in turn, shrinks your corporate carbon footprint.

Currently, Global Crossing working on creating supplementary cloud solutions that will embrace infrastructure and storage capabilities, intrusion detection, email filtering, and dynamic firewall security protection as well as virtual compute. Forthcoming cloud-based solution additions are planning to incorporate hosted software applications as well as a hosted application development environment in order to support strategic opportunities.

CaaS is also incorporated into Global Crossing’s online account management tool, uCommand for seat-based utilization reporting. Global Crossing uCommand provides network management capabilities, performance monitoring in real-time, and access to network services.

Global Crossing says it’s already proven the cost-savings value of CaaS through its own internal implementation of the solution set.  By implementing CaaS in each of its locations around the world, the company’s annual telecommunications spend has decreased 30 percent.

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Global Crossing Event Call Service

Global Crossing gives your company a worldwide virtual auditorium with a quick and reliable Event Call. Event Call gives you the ability to invite as many participants as you wish, whether it is 10, 20, 100 or more. Though it can be used for many different situations, it is great for merger/acquisitions, new products, or talks between investors without having to take the time to travel. The invitees can be brought into the call by either a specially assigned toll or toll free number or Global Crossing can call for you. A directed event operator will be ready to assist the user with the event to ensure that you concentrate on your meeting.

Global Crossing Event Call Features and Benefits

  • Event Customization: The option to include an individualized greeting, and introduction to your meeting to ensure the formality of the call.
  • Full service Calling: This will take roll call, create a list of anticipated participants, control your session, and will have the ability for Q&A in each call you make.
  • Flexible Access: Decide whether it would be best for your business to use toll-free, toll, or dial out options for each call.
  • Event Call Director: A great online tool which enables the meeting organizer to view who has joined the call, and manages the question queue, as well as chat with the conference operator.
  • Enhancement Options: In order to get the most of your time with an option for participant notification, attendance list, post-view, taping, auxiliary communications line, and transcription services.
  • Password protection and Redundant Services: Password protection will ensure that your confidentiality and conference is completely secure. Redundant systems offer disaster protection, and great reliability.

Posted in Event Conferencing, Global Crossing | No Comments »

Global Crossing Live Meeting (by Microsoft)

Microsoft Live Meeting with Global Crossing is a high-quality web based audio conferencing service, and a great online tool to meet, collaborate, or train with others online. This remarkable capability is the edge businesses need to maximize their efficiency and success in engaging clients.

Using Live Meeting will bring you the following benefits:

  • Effective and efficient response time increase within your business. By improving these two critical components, your business will be more than ready to accommodate any and all concerns, increasing your productivity in a way that will be essential for success.
  • New product demonstrations, services instructions, and overall new product market entry will all be enhanced, ensuring a more successful reception of the items being marketed. This helps your company become more accessible, leveraging you into the mainstream and potentially increasing your business.
  • Reach your employees and communicate with them effectively and professionally. Never miss any information, and stop worrying about whether or not you can get your message across the gap between management and employees.
  • Expenditures and travel time will be reduced by using Live Meeting to ensure that your conferences are done even when people are far away from one another.

Features of Live Meeting Include:

  • Real-time collaboration and feedback on documents and presentations
  • Electronic whiteboard that allows presenters to add their own notes in real-time
  • Sharing control of applications on other people’s desktops, chatting online with other members, and the ability to visit and share any meeting attendees’ websites
  • Control can be shared by co-presenters to make presentations easier
  • Handouts are checked for viruses when distributed for download, ensuring your meetings will not cause harm to any of the attendee’s computers, thereby preserving relationships between individuals
  • Presenters are given webcam privileges to be seen during the meeting, and participants can record the presentation, share, create, and save notes for future reference.
  • This is very useful for school events such as class registrations, and online exams, enabling those who cannot attend physically to still participate.

Posted in Global Crossing, Live meeting, Microsoft | No Comments »

Global Crossing Ready Access web meeting

Experience a world with seamless communication options. Connect with your business partners, staff, and customers with Global Crossing’s effective solutions and services.

Global Crossing is a provider with a very reliable and strong platform for voice, video, and data communication in a fast-paced and secured format. Their services are designed to cater to the immediate need of companies of any size for a protected and reliable method of communication.

And these solutions are exactly that; geared to increase productivity and efficiency in businesses, Global Crossing uses a reservation-less communication system for better connection quality from point to point.

The Ready Access service is one of the most in demand audio and web conferencing solutions to date, and for good reason. Subscribing to Global Crossing’s Ready Access service is simple and easy. All you need to do is contact the global account manager and ask their office to set up an account for your business.

General information is needed in order to set up an account, and once your account service is confirmed, an access code to initiate the audio conference will be given to you for immediate use.

Thanks to Global Crossing’s direct connection to eight hundred global toll-free numbers, you can kick off an online conference anytime, anywhere.

Ready Access Web Meeting is also accessible through Global Crossing Ready Access, helping you in manage your web meetings and take an organized approach in conducting a remote office conference. You can share power point presentations, disseminate important documentation, and focus on the presentation at hand at any given time by focusing on the presenter’s screen.

Aside from this, you are also provided tutorials and essential tips and tricks on how to be prepared for a web conference. These are necessary, and should be taken into consideration for the sake of having both a professional approach, and keeping a close eye on security issues.

Training programs for Ready Access—as well as recording and podcasting options—are also available in order to give you a better experience, and enhance your current skills in order to give you the tools to handle a web conference with professional expertise.

A customer care unit of dedicated professionals is also available at any time during the conference to help you resolve errors and glitches in the connection. Anybody in the conference can get in touch with the customer care unit via an efficient system that involves dialling a double zero on the keypad.

Global Crossing Ready Access’ facilities and benefits are here to serve you as a reliable and extremely efficient means of getting your entire business together, without having to suffer from the constraints of multiple offices with remote locations.

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Global Crossing Emeeting (by webex)

The world is yours to conquer in real time using web-based collaboration.

Global Crossings Emeeting is the full-featured web conferencing service powered by Webex. This service features a combination of reservation-less conferencing with multimedia content, and is semi-integrated with the audio system of Global Crossing Ready-Access.

Enjoy these features and benefits included in the package:

  • Integrate any computer task with what other people have on their computers without having to leave your office. The power of communication without even leaving your seat ensures that distance won’t matter. You will still hear from your subordinates, colleagues, and clients as if they were right in front of you.
  • Improve collaboration by directly sharing your presentations and applications without time consuming uploads. Anyone and everyone will be able to hear from you and see what you have to share even when being in the same room is not possible at the time.
  • Emergency meetings can never be easier, thanks to Global Crossing Emeeting. Even without a prior schedule, you can conduct meetings on the fly whenever you need to get in touch with anyone. Call on your team, engage clients, or conduct a meeting with your partners without experiencing the delay and hassle that scheduling a meeting inevitably has.
  • Make your meetings productive and clear with ready-access audio conferencing with Integrated Web Meeting. This ensures that your meetings will have the audio support that is critical in explaining demonstrations, and engaging clients and team members. Through audio conferencing, they will know exactly what you are trying to tell them, and hear every bit of information that you need to impart. This is designed to give you the edge you need by getting the message across clearly and effectively.
  • Your critical information will never be compromised thanks to the protective measures that are offered along with the package. Passwords and SSL encryption ensure privacy and safety for the most sensitive and important data, because nothing is more important than the wellbeing of your business.

Posted in Conferencing, Global Crossing, Web Conferencing | No Comments »