ATM

Overview
Benefits
Network/Technical
Features
Customer Support
Access
Invoicing
Hardware

It is very expensive for government organizations to deploy, operate, and maintain separate networks for voice, data, video, LAN, and frame relay. In addition, your organization may suffer from sluggish network performance, low availability, or lack of bandwidth to implement applications like collaborative computing, high speed data transfer, and multimedia. ATM makes it possible to run all your applications over one network. Verizon Business offers a network whereby government organizations can easily take advantage of ATM and all its capabilities.

ATM is a high-speed transport technology that simplifies network complexity by handling different traffic types, different interface speeds, and different user applications. If you've already invested in an extensive frame relay network, Verizon Business can preserve your investment while implementing ATM where it applies.

ATM is not distance sensitive with respect to price and therefore, is more cost effective than private lines. The ability to transport data over long distances without incurring mileage charges gives government organizations more freedom to develop and use new applications. ATM combines the high speeds of circuit switching with the flexibility of packet switching over a single, simplified infrastructure.

Government organizations can benefit from ATM's:

Cost efficiency. Exploit the capacity of your access circuits to the fullest and make more effective use of your bandwidth with ATM. Minimize the complexity and cost of customer premises equipment (CPE). Eliminate the need for network specialists to learn and maintain a whole range of different network technologies - ATM does it all.
Flexibility, versatility, and scalability. As requirements within government organizations change, the network can change with them. ATM is scalable across geography and by number of users, access, and trunk speeds. You can relocate file servers without a major network upheaval. You can also make additional bandwidth available with just a few days notice.
Predictable costs. Government organizations can estimate and calculate costs quickly and easily thanks to Verizon Business' flat rate pricing structure.

ATM from Verizon includes several different classes of service to support your various applications:

Constant Bit Rate (CBR)
Variable Bit Rate - Real Time (VBR-RT)
Variable Bit Rate - Non Real Time (VBR-NRT)
Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR)

ATM from Verizon gives government organizations the security and control of a private network along with the flexibility and economies of a public network.

Benefits

This technology makes sense. ATM integrates voice, video, and data traffic to run over one network. These services are protocol independent, and fully scaleable. They support access speeds from DS-1 up to OC-12. (Anything above OC-3 is on an individual case basis ICB).
Economies of service. Why pay for the same thing twice? ATM eliminates all redundant network costs, to give you much more buying power. Our on-net locations are all over the world, so our access charges are extremely competitive.
Advanced technology is made simple. Because ATM supports all traffic, end users don't have to know about differences in protocols and technologies. Instead, they can concentrate on their own jobs.
Government organizations get the best of both worlds. Verizon's ATM service is a public network, which can mean lower costs for you. But the virtual nature of this service provides all the security and control of a private network.

Features

Standard Features

Nationwide Service Availability
International Service Availability
Multiple Interface Rates

1.5 Mbps (DS-1)
3 Mbps - 12 Mbps (NxDS-1)
45 Mbps (DS-3)
155 Mbps (OC-3)

Multiple Service Classes

Constant Bit Rate (CBR)
Variable Bit Rate - Real Time (VBR-RT)
Variable Bit Rate - Non Real Time (VBR-NRT)
Unspecified Bit Rate (UBR)
Permanent Virtual Connections (PVC)
Permanent Virtual Path Connection (PVPC)
Permanent Virtual Channel Connection (PVCC)

Optional Features

Frame Relay to ATM Service Interworking
Frame Relay to ATM Service Interworking (FRASI) enables frame relay devices to work with ATM devices without any special software. FRASI preserves an organization's investment in an extensive frame relay network. It is a highly efficient and economical choice for wide area networks, high-bandwidth, and multimedia applications. The interworking unit of FRASI allows dissimilar equipment to function together. This enables you to use both FR and ATM as you need it, but maintain only one network.

FRASI has several components:

The Frame Relay Service Network uses a standard protocol to transmit packets across a digital public network. A Committed Information Rate will apply to the FR component of the connection.
The ATM Network uses fixed cells to support a variety of applications from different service categories. FRASI supports Variable Bit Rate, Non-Real Time ATM service classes.
The Interworking Gateway is where the protocol conversions take place. Verizon Business has gateway sites located throughout the country. Because these sites are all over the map, we can provide low network latency. Verizon Business will determine the appropriate site for each government customer.

International ATM
International ATM spans the U.S. to Europe, Canada and Asia-Pacific via strategic agreements. It is a cost-effective way to deliver integrated high-speed voice, video, and data traffic from the US and abroad.

Access

Because Verizon Business access to ATM is truly an end-to-end solution, we are the most logical choice to provide these services. Domestically, we provide Continental Access via Type 1, 2, and 3 access loops in every state

A Type 1 loop is the dedicated access, which resides in five thousand "Lit" buildings all over the country. A "Lit" building is the facility where Verizon's fiber is actually demarcated. The number of "Lit" buildings continues to grow.

A Type 2 loop is the "last mile," where the access loops extend the Verizon Business footprint through strategic interconnects with ILECs and CLECs.

Type 3 loops are the ILEC and CLEC facilities managed exclusively by our customer service, provisioning, and engineering teams.

Network Management and Technical Specifications

Verizon has been developing ATM service since 1991 when the first generation of ATM switches were installed for evaluation. Today, Verizon Business offers one of the largest nationwide ATM backbone networks. Verizon Business has a fully redundant backbone network operating at OC-12 speeds. A highly experienced broadband operations team, with two Network Control Centers, manages Verizon's network.

Each government organization has the opportunity to consult with their Verizon Federal Account Team to determine what network design best meets their requirements. In addition to ATM transport, organizations may also choose from such features as FRASI, and customer network management reporting as value-added services. Your Verizon Federal Account Team is ready to answer all your questions.

Network Management Through FTSNet
For customers who want a better way of monitoring, analyzing, and controlling their telecommunications resources, we offer government organizations FTSNet. The FTSNet platform offers access to Verizon Business Interact^SM Network Management Services which is a comprehensive suite of Web-based network management, electronic billing and customer care tools. Verizon Interact Network Management Services gives your organization an innovative, flexible, and robust management platform that allows you to better monitor, analyze, and control your telecommunications resources. Verizon Business Interact Network Management Services can also help your organization attain proficiency goals, improve productivity, and achieve greater cost control - all of which impacts your bottom line.

Service Components
The Customer Premises Equipment is on-site at your location. The list includes routers, computers, ATM switches, channel service, and data service units. These components are equipped with ATM interfaces to capture the voice, video, or data traffic, and then send it to the ATM cells. If the transmission stream needs line coding or formatting, it is done here.

Local Access is the physical connection between the Customer Premises Equipment (described above) and the ATM network. A single access facility can connect you to as many remote locations as necessary. This one line accommodates multiple logical circuits, so if your network facilities are currently segregated, they will be consolidated with our ATM service. Your organization's access is through User Network Interface. The following access alternatives are possible: DS-1, N x DS-1, DS-3, OC-3, and OC-12 (ICB).

The ATM Port Connection is the gateway to the service. It supports the virtual connections. It allocates the available capacity dynamically, which means the allocation is based on a negotiated user-network contract for each virtual connection. Verizon supports the following ports: DS-1, N x DS-1, DS-3, OC-3 and OC-12 (ICB).

Virtual Connections are paths for information cells to travel on. The cells, which contain all the addressing information, travel in a sequence over the virtual connection from a point of origin to their destination. Verizon currently offers permanent virtual connections and switched virtual connections.

Customer Support

Taking advantage of everything ATM can offer your government organization is your job. Trouble management is our job. Our technicians constantly monitor ATM so that you have reliable access day in and day out. If there should be a change in network status that may affect how your organization communicates data, we let you know before it happens.

We respond to unexpected network or service problems from your organization's end 24 hours a day. Call 1-888-FTS-SVC1 (1-888-387-7821) and a Customer Service Representative immediately notifies the right Verizon engineers and technicians. They work directly with you as they test the circuits, keep you updated on the status of the repairs, and let you know as soon as they solve the problem.

Invoicing

Pricing Components

There are three categories of service rates - Access, Port, and PVC. Because the charges are mutually exclusive, we can tailor your service to meet your changing needs.

Access charges cover the local loop and access coordination. The "access" itself is from a specified government location to the closest Verizon POP. Although charges will vary according to your locations, we can keep them low because our local access networks are all over the US, and in prime business centers internationally. Verizon has 402 Tier A (on-net) locations, and 144 Tier B (off-net) locations.
Port charges are based on the access speeds that you choose, and the required bandwidth (1.544 to 45 Mbps) that connects your location to our network. They include backhaul for ports at DS-3 speed and below from the Verizon POP to the closest ATM switch location. If Verizon does not have Type I or Type II access for the backhaul, Verizon may need to lease facilities and pass those charges through to the customer. The Verizon port charges are standard all over the world, but charges may vary from the corresponding foreign end.
The PVC charge is a fixed monthly simplex (unidirectional) rate, based on the service class and the traffic contract parameters selected by each customer. Domestic rates are different than rates that cover international trunks. PVCs can be unidirectional, bidirectional, symmetrical and asymmetrical within the US. For facilities-based international PVCs, the PVCs must be bidirectional and symmetrical.

Hardware

Government organizations can use Customized Design and Migration Services from any of our Design Centers. They are located around the globe in: Richardson, TX; San Jose, CA; Washington, DC, and overseas in Amsterdam, Holland. This year, there will also be a Design Center in the Asian Pacific Rim.

Our government prospects and customers are always welcome to visit the Developers' Lab in Richardson or the LAN Lab in Tulsa, OK. There you can thoroughly test the hardware and its applications on our live ATM test network. We also offer CPE testing and verification at these sites.

ATM

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