MCI aims for retailers, smaller sites

MCI is taking square aim at the retail market space and other businesses with scattered smaller sites with the expansion of its Secure Interworking Gateway Services suite announced today.

The two new capabilities--Broadband Virtual Private Network Interworking and Network-Based Remote Access--add to MCI's portfolio of network-based services that enable businesses to extend the reach of their broadband networks without major capital expense and IT staffing.

"As you have more remote sites or many of them, deploying and managing CPE at all those sites is a challenge to enterprises," said Michael Marcellin, senior director of VPN and data services. "A company would have to have expertise and knowledge at each site. If you think of retail sites, they won't have someone equipped to manage a network at each location."

Both offerings feature IPSec-based VPN tunnels, with the Broadband VPN Interworking aimed at companies needing T-1 connections or less bandwidth.

"They can bring their own broadband--cable or DSL access--or we will provide that for them," Marcellin said. Either way, MCI ships easily configurable Cisco Systems CPE and provides the network management.

"We think we are offering this at a nice price point for SOHO customers, the retail industry and anyone else who has multiple remote sites, and wants to extend their broadband network," he said. "Because this is a network-based service it also allows a company to focus on what they do best and turn over the networking management to an MCI. We monitor and maintain the service and back it up with [service level agreements.]"

The lower cost option can also serve as a backup service for larger sites, Marcellin added.

Secure Internet Access is a service that allows companies to offer a centrally managed service to multiple sites that brings consistently and better economics to Internet access, and provides the security of a network-based firewall, he said. They can tie together existing private lines, ATM or Frame networks into the Internet for Web access.

"Typically, even if a customer has a private WAN, they may have left Internet access up to each individual site," Marcellin stated. "This service will eliminate those extra lines and allow them to take advantage of Internet access within the [data service] port they've already purchased. The only additional cost is for the bandwidth they use."

The services are immediately available to U.S. customers and will be rolled out in other international markets later this year.