SPRINT TO SUPPLY ORACLE BACKBONE, PARTNER ON WIRELESS

Oracle will announce a $9 million annual contract with Sprint this week to consolidate its IT backbone network. On the wireless side of the business, the companies have also integrated their respective Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) platforms to improve application development for PCS Vision devices.

Oracle will consolidate and deploy new facilities using ATM, frame relay and IP. Oracle's sales force will use the high bandwidth backbone to demonstrate the company's software remotely.

“Oracle uses almost every service Sprint offers,” said Laura Thompson, account executive at Sprint. “The plan calls for rolling out new services throughout the year, mostly IP services.”

The contract includes private line data and voice, as well as enhanced toll-free services. New facilities will provide connectivity between Oracle's Redwood Shores, Calif., headquarters, field offices and application development centers.

Oracle uses several carriers for its network needs, but Sprint was able to win a significant amount of business with this contract, Thompson said. “They utilize lots of different technologies.”

Oracle cited a willingness on Sprint's part to design solutions according to its specific needs and was looking for a financially stable partner for its global expansion.

“You can get some of that from a small companies, but those companies aren't always there year after year,” Thompson said.

IDC, however, isn't so sure. In a recent report, the research company said small or specialty providers would capture two-thirds of the global revenue from IP-based VPN services.