October 30, 2006
Architecture Firm Calls Upon AT&T for VoIP Services

By Johanne Torres
TMCnet Contributing Editor

Architecture firm Bucher, Willis & Ratliff (BWR) has chosen AT&T as its provider of VoIP services. The companies announced a new, two-year contract they just inked, which will provide all BWR locations including its headquarters in Kansas City, MO and its other seven locations across the country with IP-based telephony services.
 
The new contract calls for AT&T (News - Alert) to serve as BWR’s primary network and data services provider, integrating the telecom’s Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Private Network Transport (PNT) service.
 
AT&T MPLS PNT will enable BWR to integrate VoIP technologies and applications for better transmission of large data files across the company’s network. The system will also enable the company to deliver time-sensitive voice and data files in a speedy fashion.
 
With the new system in place, all BWR’s locations will be connected into a consolidated network. AT&T’s MPLS backbone offers increased bandwidth, which will enable BWR transfer large files between all of its connected locations, therefore streamlining the company’s migration to VoIP.
 
“BWR wanted a cost-effective solution that would enhance our network and allow us to take advantage of advanced VoIP applications,” said BWR’s director of information technology William Ford in a statement released on Monday. “The solution provided by AT&T will give us the bandwidth we need with the flexibility to expand our applications as we continue to grow our business.”
 
AT&T made news last week when it announced the installation of 2.1 million dollars worth of dynamic networking infrastructure at Whitney National Bank in New Orleans to keep its banking processes and data protected even in case of an emergency or service outage. The system will protect the bank’s branches and its locations across the stretch from Texas to Florida.
 
Under a new contract awarded to AT&T, the telecom will provide Whitney National Bank with a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) system, which AT&T is currently installing. With AT&T’s MPLS technology in place, the bank will be able to prioritize network traffic across all of its 156 branches.
 
The bank chose to adopt AT&T’s system after being affected by Hurricane Katrina last year and going through network outages during the storm. AT&T will be Whitney’s partner in the bank’s business continuity program, which will help the bank keep its data secure during disasters.
 
Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corporation
AT&T Inc.
 
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Johanne Torres is contributing editor for TMCnet and INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine. To see more articles by Johanne Torres, please visit her columnist page.