BT International, a global leader in international secure multi-cloud connectivity, and STACKIT, the cloud provider of Schwarz Digits, have today announced a partnership to help multinational customers operating in the EU comply with regulations, enhance their operational resilience and achieve the best applications performance.

Initially, BT will provide internet connectivity (peering) from its existing global network into STACKIT’s EU-based sovereign cloud. Later, this will be complemented with the option of private connectivity. In future, both private and internet connectivity will be delivered by BT’s new Global Fabric network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform. This will enable on-demand, flexible and resilient connectivity to STACKIT and other cloud services.

For the first time, STACKIT’s private sovereign cloud will be accessible to organisations operating outside the EU via a private sovereign connection rather than public internet links.

This breakthrough offers EU-based multinationals with global operations greater flexibility and control over where their data and applications are hosted and who can access them — ensuring compliance while unlocking greater business value.

Multinationals headquartered outside the EU but conducting business within the jurisdiction will also benefit. They can now build resilient, sovereign IT infrastructures to support their European operations, with compliant access to critical data and applications in line with regulations.

STACKIT’s high-performance data centres, located exclusively in Europe, operate under stringent security protocols and are fully GDPR-compliant. This ensures that customers within the EU retain complete control over their data. STACKIT also provides robust recovery capabilities, safeguarding customers against outages caused by external events such as natural disasters.

Global Fabric connectivity will offer customers using STACKIT on-demand access to a full suite of secure, stable, scalable and sovereign multi-cloud networking services. It includes pre-integrated connectivity to the world’s leading cloud platforms, SaaS providers, security services, and other digital solutions.

According to the latest McKinsey Economic Conditions Outlook, executives say geopolitical instability “overshadows all other perceived economic risks” with 72 per cent of respondents to its February 2026 survey citing it as one of the biggest global economic risks, up sharply from 51 percent in December 2025.

Global Fabric supports sovereignty and resilience by giving customers full control over how their workloads and data traverse the network. By accessing STACKIT via Global Fabric, customers will be able to ensure their data remains within EU borders — even as it moves between clouds and users.

Ghoutam Banerjee, director partner ecosystem & growth, STACKIT, said: “Through our partnership with BT, we are creating a groundbreaking connection for digital sovereignty. Together, we are enabling multinational corporations to access our sovereign STACKIT Cloud directly from locations outside the EU via a private sovereign connection. This integration not only strengthens our customers' operational resilience but also guarantees full compliance with European data protection standards, while ensuring that data remains securely within EU borders.”

Joris van Oers, chief commercial officer at BT International, said: “Sovereignty is top of mind for our customers — data sovereignty and both operational and technical sovereignty too. CIOs want resilient networks and IT systems to keep their businesses running, regardless of trade policy changes, global outages or natural disasters. We’re partnering with STACKIT to provide customers operating in Europe with trusted access to sovereign and resilient cloud services. It’s a powerful example of why BT is the global leader in secure multi-cloud connectivity.”

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Notes to Editors

Sovereignty

Data sovereignty ensures data is governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which it was generated, with clarity over where it is stored and processed. Operational sovereignty relates to how services are run, including who operates them, from where, and under what governance and accreditation. Technical sovereignty is about long term control and resilience, including the ability to operate, adapt and remain secure without undue dependency.

Peering

Peering is a direct interconnection between service providers that enables faster, more reliable data exchange. Benefits include shorter routing paths, lower latency and reduced congestion resulting in improved application performance. Without sufficient peering, users may experience slower speeds and degraded performance.

Global Fabric and peering

Global Fabric, BT’s new network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform, will offer peering with a wide range of service and solution providers used daily by multinational customers. This includes sovereign cloud providers like STACKIT, hyperscalers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud, as well as cloud security services, content delivery networks, business applications, SD-WAN providers and conferencing platforms.

With a physical footprint spanning approximately 140 global locations — aligned with cloud nodes, content providers, IXPs, and ISPs — Global Fabric ensures optimal performance for public cloud usage and SaaS consumption.

Designed for resilience, Global Fabric includes at least two points-of-presence (PoPs) per metro area, ensuring uninterrupted service even in the event of a PoP failure. As businesses grow, Global Fabric’s peering capabilities scale to meet evolving traffic demands, optimising routing paths for peak performance.

Shorter routing paths and lower latency enable seamless delivery of bandwidth-intensive applications such as video conferencing, cloud services, and data analytics. Direct peering also reduces reliance on costly upstream providers, offering competitive pricing for B2B customers.

Network-as-a-service (Naas)

The ISG Provider Lens® custom report, Shaping the future of NaaS in Europe, offers an analyst‑authored view of how NaaS is evolving across Europe. It outlines how organisations are modernising their networks through AI‑enabled, automated and consumption‑based models to support hybrid work, regulatory requirements — including sovereignty — and multi-cloud expansion.

The report can be downloaded from BT’s website at the following link: https://business.bt.com/insights/isg-shaping-future-naas-report/.

According to Dr. Kenn D Walters, ISG analyst and author of the report, “BT’s Global Fabric is a continuously evolving advanced NaaS solution with effective consumption options”.

About STACKIT

STACKIT is the cloud provider of Schwarz Digits. External partners and customers in Europe can rely on the cloud services that companies of Schwarz Group have been benefiting from for years for their digital transformation. On the way to becoming the first European hyperscaler, STACKIT offers digital sovereignty that goes far beyond the market standard and individual approaches to the implementation and operation of cloud solutions. STACKIT currently operates four data centers – one of which is in Austria – and is building a fifth in Lübbenau. Based in Neckarsulm, Germany, the team is paving the way for an independent Europe – digital, leading. As part of Schwarz Digits, STACKIT GmbH & Co. KG is part of the IT and digital division of Schwarz Group.

The contract will see BT provide the energy company with a suite of services including improved network infrastructure, strengthened connectivity and a team of dedicated professionals to guard against cyber security threats.

BT will also be responsible for ensuring a high-quality of service and support across the business, day-to-day management of network infrastructure and data hosting.  

The deal will support NIE Network’s digital transformation, which aims to modernise the key services and infrastructure that provide electricity across Northern Ireland. Initially the contract will run for five years, with the option to extend by up to another 10 years.

NIE Networks owns the electricity network across Northern Ireland, consisting of approximately 2,300km of transmission network and 58,800km of distribution network. It is also the operator for the distribution network and is responsible for the safe, secure and reliable supply of electricity to 966,000 homes, farms and businesses.

The partnership is designed to support local jobs, build digital skills and create supply-chain opportunities across Northern Ireland.

Chris Sims, Chief Commercial Officer at BT Business, said: “Electricity networks are part of the critical infrastructure that keeps Northern Ireland running, and they rely on technology that is secure, reliable and resilient by design. That’s where BT comes in.

“With evolving cyber threats, protecting essential services is more important than ever and organisations rely on digital connections they can trust.

“With our experience in supporting critical services and our long-standing presence in Northern Ireland, we are in a unique position to provide the secure, trusted connectivity and specialist expertise that will help strengthen the network for years to come.”

The deal will also enable a move to more sustainable infrastructure and networks, supporting NIE Networks to reach their sustainability and net zero ambitions.

Rohan Kapoor, Chief Information Officer of NIE Networks, commented: “This multi-year partnership is a win-win for Northern Ireland’s economy supporting local jobs, skills development, and supply-chain opportunities. 

"The collaboration will also help meet Northern Ireland’s energy needs, increasing our technological capabilities and enabling further electrification, renewables integration and emerging flexibility markets all of which have a positive impact on the Northern Ireland economy and the NI Executive’s net zero targets.”

BT Group has a strong presence in Northern Ireland, employing more than 3,400 people and providing an economic boost of £630 million. It is also responsible for generating £1 in every £110 produced in the region according to an independent report.

In 2023 it officially unveiled a multi-million-pound refurbishment of its flagship Belfast Riverside office, boasting state-of-the-art technology and collaboration spaces for colleagues from its EE, BT Business and Openreach units.

BT will provide 23,000 mobile connections across EE’s award-winning network supporting easyJet’s operations in 35 countries and over 150 airports, from Gatwick to Gran Canaria.

The airline provider will use the EE network to connect a range of devices and will enable all pilots and cabin crew to seamlessly access flight information and real-time training on the go.

BT will also support easyJet to: 

• Deliver smart messaging to keep customers updated on their flight

• Connect iPads that pilots and crew use to provide real-time flight information

• Connect smartphones, mobile phones and aircraft phones to allow seamless communication between airline colleagues

• Provide laptops and other hardware for workers.

All devices will be equipped with eSIMs, offering a smarter, more efficient way to manage mobile connectivity.

eSIMs enable remote setup, enhance security, reduce costs, and simplify logistics—supporting global operations while reducing waste and improving user experience.

Chris Sims, Chief Commercial Officer at BT Business, said: “This partnership with easyJet is about delivering the smart, seamless connectivity which is crucial when operating at scale.

“By equipping thousands of devices with eSIMs on EE’s award-winning network, we’re enabling easyJet to manage connections remotely, switch networks across borders, and reduce the complexity of traditional SIMs.

“It’s a future-ready solution that enhances security, boosts efficiency, and keeps teams connected when they need it most.”

It comes as our customers face unprecedented disruption across their markets driven by geopolitics, regulation and technology — with AI catalysing change faster than ever. We have designed BT International specifically to help our customers meet these challenges head on and anticipate future opportunities to thrive.

The way we do this centres on two highly scalable telco platforms designed for the age of multi-cloud and AI: Global Voice and Global Fabric, with security built in by design. We’ve channelled our investments into these cloud-centric global platforms and concentrated our expert teams where customers need them most.

From asset-light to platform-rich

We have evolved our ‘asset-light’ strategy for several years, designing our platforms to reflect the trends we see in customer traffic crossing our networks — from data flows to and between the big cloud providers to the emergence of hybrid cloud as a preferred model for many businesses. We see that AI has unpredictable impacts on our customers’ networks — from the lumpy, bulky training workloads of large language models (LLMs) powering GenAI to the low latency demands of conversational AI and augmented reality. These trends are set against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving cyber security threat landscape and a fast-moving regulatory environment.

Telecoms gets its voice back

Our Global Voice platform enables businesses, governments and the people they engage with to communicate with each other effortlessly. We’re already world leading in the global voice services market, managing over 16 billion calls to customer call centres in over 70 countries every year. We’ve migrated these services onto a new SIP-powered, cloud focussed platform enabling voice to be carried across data networks. SIP has been around for a while but the fact that Global Managed Voice is both SIP-powered and cloud-focused means that it’s perfectly poised to unlock the full potential of integrating voice with AI.  

Indeed, Gartner predicts that 30 per cent of Fortune 500 companies will offer customer service through only a single, AI-enabled channel by 2028. I believe our Global Voice platform is strongly positioned to enable this, backed by our experts who have delivered over 5,000 contact centres to over 2,000 customers around the world.

Wrapping the world in Global Fabric

Next, we have Global Fabric, our brand-new, AI-ready, cloud-centric network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform. This offers customers instant, secure and resilient connectivity to practically every app or digital service they want, including the world’s top cloud and software-as-a-service  (SaaS) providers. It launched to live customer traffic earlier this year and it is the platform that will help us achieve our goal to be the world’s number one provider of secure multi-cloud connectivity.

Global Fabric could have hardly arrived at a better time. We were one of the first telcos off the starting blocks with a truly greenfield international platform to eliminate the drag that the previous generation of networks had on customer innovation. With traditional networks, setting up or making changes to connectivity for a new or existing app, including AI, could take days or weeks. With Global Fabric, it happens in an instant.

Now think of the increasingly complex international regulatory environment. Technology and data have become geopolitical pawns. That means customers must double down on sovereignty, ensuring the right data stays within the right jurisdiction while enabling them to unlock its value to the business. With Global Fabric, customers can choose both the cloud destinations their data goes to and the route it takes along the way. This means regulated data never leaves the designated national borders and helps customers stay compliant.

Sharing a platform for success

Looking to the future of our industry, we believe international networks will gravitate towards fewer, larger, telco platforms able to manage the demand generated by increased cloud and AI services. We invite other service providers to work with BT International, as we build out our ecosystem of partners, including our recently announced partnership with Google Cloud, and scale fast so we can, as an industry, offer the best value to customers across the globe. 

We’re at a pivotal moment as an industry. It is an opportunity to move away from fragmented legacy international networks to a platform designed with the reality of AI, cyber and cloud at its core, reflecting customers’ expectations of speed, security, sustainability, sovereignty and naturally the skills to support future growth and prosperity.

The connectivity will enable reliable reporting of real-time data on things like water quality, extreme weather events, flood risks and the spread of disease through farming crops or livestock.

It will also support workers across the Department and its Cluster Members including The Environment Agency, Animal, Plant & Health Agency, Natural England, Marine Management Organisation and The Rural Payment Agency. 

Andy Rowe, BT’s Director of Central Government, said: “It’s a privilege to welcome DEFRA to the EE network and to support their mission to restore and enhance the environment for the next generation. 

“Their workers perform critical work across the UK and it’s vital they are provided with reliable network coverage, especially in times of crisis.”

DEFRA will also benefit from EE’s significant investment in the UK’s Shared Rural Network (SRN), enhancing 4G coverage in the country’s most rural areas, enabling both field and office-based  DEFRA employees to work effectively.

BT has also committed to support DEFRA’s carbon reduction ambitions as part of the deal. It will be given access to key tools including eSim capability and BT’s Carbon Dashboard, which provides visibility of electricity consumption and carbon emissions at an individual workload and application level to help minimise waste and reduce carbon-generating activities.

Andy Rowe added: “For organisations with large fleets and field workers, hybrid working is about more than just home and office spaces. Staying connected on the go is critical for DEFRA’s workers who rely on mobile connectivity to operate effectively and serve the wider public community daily or in emergency situations.”

BT is unrivalled in its experience delivering the UK’s critical connectivity infrastructure, with its fixed and mobile networks trusted to underpin essential public services across the nation. 

As well as connecting national and local government, BT works with more than 200 NHS trusts, 43 police forces, 29 fire services and has supported the emergency services by handling all incoming 999 calls since 1937. 

BT and Equinix today announced an expansion of their partnership to help multinational organisations transform interconnectivity across their digital value chain. The move will help customers boost innovation and accelerate business outcomes.

BT’s AI-ready, Global Fabric network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform is now deployed in over 30 Equinix data-centres, growing to over 40 in the next year. This will span the world’s top 30 business locations covering 95 per cent of the world’s cloud interconnection traffic.

It will add to Global Fabric’s international footprint, which BT believes will be one of the largest of any NaaS platform. When fully built-out, Global Fabric will be available to customers internationally via 140 points-of-presence (PoPs) hosted in the world’s top cloud locations across 40 countries. It will offer 74 per cent direct coverage of hyperscaler clouds and pre-provisioned high-bandwidth connectivity to over 700 data-centres.

Global Fabric connects multinational organisations securely, flexibly and reliably. It transforms the ease at which they can deploy and scale interconnectivity with third parties such as customers and suppliers across their full digital value chain.

It provides visibility and control of both access and core networks. This allows organisations to achieve the best end-to-end network performance for their workloads, from users and devices in offices, factories and other operational sites, to the multi-cloud core, which interconnects apps and digital services such as AI. It is built on a fully resilient architecture and offered with a range of management options. With legacy networks, setting up or changing connectivity could take weeks. With Global Fabric, it happens in an instant.

Equinix’s global platform interconnects multiple clouds hosting the apps, solutions and marketplaces underpinning the digital economy. It provides access to approximately 2,000 network services, approximately 3,000 cloud and IT services, over 400 content and digital media services, and more than 4,800 enterprises.

The agreement expands BT’s ability to offer its customers a comprehensive choice of the best locations for their business to digitally interconnect with partners, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders across their full value chain.

It builds on BT Group’s quantum secure communications relationship with Equinix following the joint achievement of the UK’s first data centre to data centre connection using the technology.

According to Equinix’s Global Interconnection Index, digital ecosystems are growing exponentially. Eighty per cent of business-to-business sales interactions are expected to occur in digital channels by the end of 2025. By integrating industry value chains, leading businesses are innovating at a rate 25 per cent higher than their peers.

Arun Dev, Global Interconnections, Equinix, said: “Our partnership enables BT to offer its customers interconnectivity with the full Equinix global digital ecosystem of cloud and IT services, as well as hundreds of content and digital media services, and over 4,800 enterprises hosted at our datacentres globally.” 

​Matt Swinden, director, digital connectivity, Business, BT, said: "The BT-Equinix partnership is a terrific example of our strategy to build the strongest digital foundations for our customers. Global Fabric combined with Equinix’s global ecosystem of infrastructure, cloud and digital service widens the choice we offer to customers of the best locations to interconnect their full business value chain. It will help make trading, partnering and operating a multinational business, better on BT.” 

ENDS

About Equinix

Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) is the world's digital infrastructure company^®. Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks to our business and operating results related to the current inflationary environment; foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; stock price fluctuations; increased costs to procure power and the general volatility in the global energy market; the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX^® and xScale^® data centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix products and solutions; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenues from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; risks related to our taxation as a REIT; risks related to regulatory inquiries or litigation and other risks described from time to time in Equinix filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see recent and upcoming Equinix quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

BT today announced an expansion of its managed secure SD-WAN solution for business and public sector customers in the UK with new SSE (Security Service Edge) capabilities, leveraging technology from Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security. The expanded software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) service will help customers seamlessly transition from managed SD-WAN to secure access service edge (SASE), and forge ahead with their digital transformation by protecting access to their applications and data in the cloud.

Customers’ use of cloud technology is intensifying as they increasingly digitalise their businesses, shifting apps and data from their own private datacentres into public cloud services. At the same time, their organisations are more dispersed than ever, with people and devices accessing digital services from everywhere. 

BT’s existing managed SD-WAN service already provides customers with the flexibility to mix different connectivity options for each of their sites with a leading next-generation firewall. The company is now partnering with Fortinet to enhance this with new AI-powered SSE capabilities to provide a firewall-as-a-service, secure web gateway, cloud access security broker and zero-trust network access to provide a complete, managed SASE solution. This will enhance customers’ oversight of their networks backed with AI-powered proactive threat detection and data protection via BT’s unified monitoring services in the UK. It can also help customers create a zero-trust infrastructure by continuously interrogating the credentials of users and devices attempting to access the network either on the edge or out and about.   

“Our partnership with Fortinet is another signal to customers that BT has their back as they invest to become even more successful, creative, digital businesses,” said Matt Swinden, director, digital connectivity, BT. “Our new managed service enables them to provide consistent, seamless and secure experiences to their users of cloud-hosted digital services regardless of where they are accessing them from. This will help customers manage risk as they innovate with the latest connected technologies from IoT to AI.”

“Building upon our decade-long partnership, we’re proud to collaborate on the new SASE service with BT to enable its UK customers to converge networking and security,” said Nirav Shah, Vice President, Products and Solutions, Fortinet. “SASE complements the cybersecurity platform approach to delivering integrated security and secure network access regardless of where users are located. By combining Fortinet’s cutting-edge SASE and secure networking solutions with a leading choice of fixed and 5G access networks from BT, customers can have a nimble, robust, and  more secure network to help them get the best from the cloud.”

As part of the companies’ longstanding collaboration, BT has earned over 750 Fortinet accreditations, including Regional Partner status as part of the Engage Partner Program and UK Partner of the Year 2023, while Fortinet achieved Critical Partner status with BT Security. The managed service is powered by Fortinet Secure SD-WAN which was recently named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN, marking the fifth consecutive year it has been recognized.

ENDS

Notes to editors

SASE

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is a cloud architecture model that combines network and security-as-a-service functions together and delivers them as a single cloud service.  Conceptually, SASE extends networking and security capabilities beyond where they’re typically available. This lets work-from-anywhere and remote workers, to take advantage of firewall as a service (FWaaS), secure web gateway (SWG), zero-trust network access (ZTNA), and a medley of threat detection functions.  SASE is composed of Security Service Edge (SSE) and SD-WAN.

The term SASE (pronounced “sassy”) was first described by Gartner in an August 2019 report called, “The Future of Network Security in the Cloud.” Gartner notes that in the SASE market trend report, "Customer demands for simplicity, scalability, flexibility, low latency, and pervasive security force convergence of the WAN edge and network security markets.”

The BT-managed Fortinet service leverages a number of solutions, including:

• Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, which sends application traffic via a customer’s wide area network (WAN) links, using policies set by them to optimise user experience
• FortiSwitch, which provides local area network (LAN) ports for connecting additional wired devices such as desktop PC's, access points and point of sale machines.
• FortiAP Access Points, which extend Wi-Fi coverage in larger buildings simply with zero-touch deployment, and no licences to manage. Enjoy broad visibility, automated protection, and integrated threat intelligence.
• Mobile Data Access provides instant connectivity over 4G or 5G for rapid site set up and short-term needs, as well as a backup or active-active with a primary connection. All underpinned by EE; the UK’s leading mobile network.
• Fortinet Next-Generation Firewalls provide enterprise security at any edge, and at any scale on all WAN and LAN traffic as it passes through.
• FortiSASE, a cloud-delivered service that combines network and security functionalities, protecting users and devices when they are off a company's network by using common security policies and functionality similar to on-premises environments.

About the cyber security threat

Cyber security breaches and attacks remain a common threat. According to its latest figures, BT detects over 2,000 signals of potential cyber-attacks every second — over 200 million per day. It also finds web-connected devices are scanned over 1,000 times a day by known malicious sources — an average of once every 90 seconds. While some scans are conducted legitimately for security monitoring, three in four (78 per cent) are not harmless — indicating that hackers are looking for weaknesses in the online systems of businesses and essential public services, as smart tech becomes common. BT’s data revealed a 1,234 per cent annual rise in new malicious internet protocol (IP) scanners recorded across its networks in the 12 months to July 2024. The increase reflects how cyber criminals are increasingly scanning for vulnerabilities through automated, ‘one time use’ disposable bots, in an attempt to evade existing blocking and security measures.

BT’s analysis also showed that IT, defence and financial services are the three most targeted industries for cyber-attacks.  

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally. Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN, Jonathan Forest, Karen Brown, Nauman Raja, 30 September 2024

About Fortinet

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere you need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet's solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including CERTs, government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.  

Copyright © 2024 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, the Fortinet logo, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, FortiASIC, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiAI, FortiAIOps, FortiAntenna, FortiAP, FortiAPCam, FortiAuthenticator, FortiCache, FortiCall, FortiCam, FortiCamera, FortiCarrier, FortiCASB, FortiCentral, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiCSPM, FortiCWP, FortDAST, FortiDB, FortiDDoS, FortiDeceptor, FortiDeploy, FortiDevSec, FortiEDR, FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFirewall, FortiFlex FortiFone, FortiGSLB, FortiGuest, FortiHypervisor, FortiInsight, FortiIsolator, FortiLAN, FortiLink, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiNDR, FortiPenTest, FortiPhish, FortiPoint, FortiPolicy, FortiPortal, FortiPresence, FortiProxy, FortiRecon, FortiRecorder, FortiSASE, FortiSDNConnector, FortiSEC, FortiSIEM, FortiSMS, FortiSOAR, FortiStack, FortiSwitch, FortiTester, FortiToken, FortiTrust, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLM and FortiXDR. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments. 

BT today announced it has switched on Global Fabric, its new, transformative, network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform and has been carrying out extensive live testing over the past two months. The first Global Fabric services will launch in early 2025.

Global Fabric will make it easier and quicker for businesses to securely connect employees, customers and devices to apps and digital services — including artificial intelligence (AI) — that are hosted across multiple clouds.

Customers will benefit from scalable, secure, high-capacity and resilient connectivity, ready to meet the growing and complex demands of breakthrough AI technologies. Global Fabric’s flexibility will be unprecedented. With legacy networks, setting up or making changes to connectivity services can take weeks. With Global Fabric, it happens in an instant, helping businesses manage unpredictable, AI-driven spikes in data traffic.

BT has already installed Global Fabric ‘points of presence’ (PoPs) in over 45 of the world’s major cloud data centres with the number increasing to 140. This offers customers a choice of locations from which to access Global Fabric services to suit their operational, market and regulatory needs. 

Customers that do not have network connections into the cloud data centres hosting Global Fabric PoPs will be able to order new links from BT, ensuring they are ready for the launch of live services in early 2025. 

BT is also rolling out a demo of Global Fabric’s digital management portal. By November, this will allow customers’ IT teams to learn how to set up and optimise their multi-cloud network configurations and experiment with application programmable interfaces (APIs). APIs will help customers integrate Global Fabric connectivity into other digital business platforms and apps to boost innovation and growth.  

“BT’s Global Fabric will help customers hit the cloud running,” said Colin Bannon, chief technology officer, BT Business. “It will give them a choice of the world’s best cloud locations to interconnect with their customers, partners and suppliers, making them easier to do business with not just today but tomorrow too. With the achievement of our latest Global Fabric delivery milestones, we take another step closer to a new age of AI-ready, digital interconnectivity.”

ENDS

Connecting to Global Fabric PoPs

Global Fabric’s core network hardware is installed in the world’s major carrier neutral facilities (CNFs) — large datacentres where cloud providers, software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies and network operators provide access to their services.

Global Fabric hardware locations are known as ‘points of presence’ (PoPs). BT makes it easy for customers to connect their sites to their business partners, and to their applications and workloads hosted in the multi-cloud, using our PoPs as global connectivity gateways.

The new network will provide secure and reliable connectivity for BGC sites across multiple locations (gas fields, processing plants and offices). It will also provide enhanced connectivity to hyperscalers and delivery of cloud-based applications such as Microsoft 365 and SAP.

This new high-performance, secure network will lay the foundation for BGC’s goal of a future proof, cloud-enabled secure infrastructure in the coming years.

Andrew Wiper, Managing Director of BGC said: “Collaborating with BT is an important milestone for BGC. In forging this alliance, we propel BGC towards global excellence. The bedrock of our operations lies in robust and efficient connectivity, and this contract reinforces our commitment to efficiency and safety.”

Eyad Shihabi, Managing Director, Global Industries and Government, Business, BT said: “We’re very proud of our relationship with JV BGC. This partnership represents a new chapter in this relationship by delivering the high standards of quality and reliability of services directly to BGC in Iraq.”

BT today announced it is rolling out its transformational Global Fabric network-as-a-service (NaaS) in strategic Digital Realty carrier neutral facilities (CNFs) around the world. This will enable customers to unlock the full value of their data by making it easier for employees to access it securely and compliantly across the business. It will provide IT leaders with instant, centralised control of connectivity for the best performance and user experience, reduce total costs and help ensure compliance.

Global Fabric is BT’s brand-new NaaS with a footprint spanning the world’s top cloud locations. It is designed to be flexible, scalable and resilient, and offer near-instant control with a choice of connectivity on a pay-as-you-use basis.

Digital Realty operates over 300 CNFs across six continents, in more than 25 countries and over 50 metros. These bring together the world’s leading cloud and software-as-a-service providers in a single location to offer customers a data-centre platform that can act as a digital hub for their business, bringing together technology and data to create the intelligence that drives their digital transformation.

By offering Global Fabric connectivity within and between CNFs, the partners will enable customers to choose and instantly create the right type of connections for their applications and data and layer on security services to make it easier to share across the business. This includes choosing the routes workloads take as they cross the network to give the best user experience to employees wherever they are.

With this control, customers can achieve the best applications performance and costs while addressing growing cyber security threats and future regulations on data in transit. It builds on BT’s existing ability to offer customers Digital Realty hosting and co-location services, which will be available through the Global Fabric marketplace.

Harm Joosse, Global Head of Strategy & Business Development, Service Providers, Digital Realty, said: “By integrating into Digital Realty’s global data centre platform, PlatformDIGITAL®, customers address data gravity challenges by bringing users and clouds to the data with BT’s Global Fabric connectivity, controls, and policy management.

Joosse continued: “BT’s innovative network-as-a-service solution, combined with Digital Realty’s orchestration platform, ServiceFabric™, empowers enterprises with on-demand, personalized experiences, ultimately revolutionizing the way networks are used and managed.”

Colin Bannon, CTO, Business, BT, said: “Businesses deploying cloud services locally benefit from proximity to customers and suppliers. For large organisations, more value can be unlocked if local data can be brought together centrally in a secure and compliant way to create new insights. With data volumes surging, CIOs need greater control of data flows. The combination of Global Fabric and Digital Realty can help customers unlock value from data by stopping local data hubs becoming digital black holes.”

ENDS

About Digital Realty

Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL®, the company’s global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx®) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges. Digital Realty gives its customers access to the connected data communities that matter to them with a global data center footprint of 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 25+ countries on six continents. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and X.

BT today announced a brand-new international network, enabling business customers to innovate at pace. The new network connects the multiple clouds businesses use for their applications and data with users, such as customers and employees, and will allow them to take advantage of the new wave of digital automation and AI.

Global Fabric, as the new network will be known, represents a generational shift in technology, based on a network-as-a-service (NaaS) technical and commercial model. Like the cloud itself, it is designed to be flexible, scalable and resilient both in the quality of connectivity and the convenience of pay-as-you-use. By combining the power of cloud and networks, customers can optimise application performance, user experience and cost.

They will be able to choose the right type of connectivity for their applications and workloads and proactively manage the routes these take as they move across the network. With this control, customers can achieve the best applications performance, manage costs and address growing regulatory requirements for data in transit.

The new high-capacity, fully programmable network is built with state-of-the-art equipment offering improvements in efficiency, sustainability and resilience. BT estimates that when fully rolled out, Global Fabric will use 79 per cent less electricity than its current global networks (see Notes to editors). This means customers on the new network will be able to reduce their Scope 3 carbon emissions.

Its digital orchestration and e-commerce-like interface enable customers to “shop” for connectivity. It will be pre-integrated with more than 630 digital service providers and over 700 datacentres. This covers the world’s largest public cloud providers, private clouds, network, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and secure access service edge (SASE) solutions — all available at the click of a button.

Jan Hein Bakkers, Senior Research Director, IDC, said: “Organisations realise that the network is a critical foundation for their digital-first and cloud-centric strategies. With the launch of Global Fabric, BT addresses their need to transform their networks. IDC research shows that organisations should adopt a secure and sustainable platform that provides the flexibility, manageability, scalability, and cost effectiveness that can support the right end-user experience for each application. Communications service providers that can deliver performant connectivity solutions with these attributes will be well placed to succeed.”

Chris Sharp, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Realty, said: “Global Fabric is a great example of how service providers should be innovating and will offer enterprises new options for connecting to Digital Realty, the world’s largest data centre platform. By building a cloud-centric network and locating its PoPs inside our world-leading carrier neutral facilities (CNFs), BT will be able to offer its customers terrific speeds with low latency while helping them minimise their environmental impact.”

Brenden Rawle, Senior Director Business Development EMEA at Equinix said: "We welcome BT’s launch of Global Fabric, which builds on its Connected Cloud Edge solution launched with Equinix last year. We enjoy a great partnership with BT and look forward to working together to connect customers to the doorstep of the cloud with a vast and varied choice of potential partners and other SaaS providers, in the Equinix location of their choice."

Bas Burger, CEO, Business, BT, said: “Global Fabric will future proof customers’ connectivity by providing flexibility to ensure they’re always connected so they can always be productive. They’re facing a new wave of digital revolution with AI, IoT and automation driving demand for simplicity and better multi-cloud connectivity. Customers can achieve better total costs, boost app performance and user experience, all while complying with regulations and mitigating cyber threats. Global Fabric means multi-cloud works better on BT.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Architected for multi-cloud

The location of Global Fabric’s network hardware is key. Global Fabric’s cloud-centric architecture will give it the most direct coverage of hyperscaler clouds of any connectivity provider in the world — almost 50 per cent more than the nearest competitor, based on connectivity information published on hyperscaler websites. Hyperscale clouds include those of AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure.

Running on the new network “underlay” will be an AI-powered digital orchestration layer. Unlike the Internet, Global Fabric will be “deterministic” — customers will be able to trust BT to deliver the predictable application experience they expect by selecting the optimal end-to-end paths for their applications and workloads as they move to and between multiple clouds and end users.

Connectivity options

Options will include a new BT-enhanced Internet service, point-to-point Ethernet, multi-point Ethernet and MPLS and these will be offered in bandwidth increments of 1 Mbps up to 100 Gbps. Connectivity will be interchangeable on the same port, offering flexibility not possible on current networks.

Global Fabric and sustainability – key figures

Using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol ICT Sector Guidance by Gesi, BT has generated the following estimates:

• In use, Global Fabric will consume 8,326 MWh/year versus its existing international networks at 39,890 MWh/year — a 79 per cent reduction.
• Use stage gross carbon including PUE will be 2,964 tonCO2e/year for Global Fabric versus 13,596 tonCO2e/year for BT’s existing international networks — a 78 per cent reduction.
• Global Fabric’s embodied emissions will be 363 tonCO2e/year versus its existing international networks 2,185 tonCO2e/year — an 83 per cent reduction.
• This gives a total carbon in use plus embodied carbon figure of 3,327 for Global Fabric versus its existing international networks at 15,781 tonCO2e/year — a 78 per cent reduction.
• BT estimates the average power consumption of Global Fabric will be 787 Watts per device, versus 2,201 Watts per device for its existing international networks.
• Moreover, Global Fabric will be built using 1,326 devices versus 1,571 devices — a 16 per cent reduction versus its existing international networks.

The first seven of BT’s Street Hub 2.0 units have been installed in the city bringing free ultra-fast WiFi, free calls, wayfinding information and rapid device charging.

Street Hubs offer a range of benefits including free ultra-fast WiFI, free emergency calls and rapid device charging, and offer a more modern alternative to traditional payphones.

They also provide directions for tourists and have the capacity to be fitted with signal boosting 4G and 5G cells.

The first Street Hubs were switched on today at the sites including streets in Byker, Benton, Heaton and Haymarket. They form part of BT’s rollout of even better mobile and WiFi connections for communities across the UK.

As part of the initiative, BT will also be gifting free advertising to small businesses as they face increased costs during the current economic situation.

The company is donating up to £7.5 million of outdoor advertising space to small businesses across the UK as part of the rollout of the new digital units.

Michael Smy, Head of Street at BT, said: “Street Hubs provide communities with the improved WiFi and mobile connectivity that is now such a central part of everyday life.

“Bringing the Hubs to Newcastle not only allows us to provide the same benefits as traditional payphones, but also offer enhanced and future-proofed technology for the future.

“Gifting free advertising to small businesses in the city also means we are able to play our part in supporting its economy.”

One of the first businesses in the city to benefit from the free advertising space will be Bud Couriers, based in the city. The organisation won a competition to land the free advertising as part of the introduction of hubs in the city.

James Tyer of Bud Couriers said: "The BT Street Hubs have been a blessing for my small business. This month, with the introduction of the clean air zone in Newcastle city centre, these adverts are positioned perfectly to reach those affected by the issue.

“Using these boards, we are able to showcase our role as an authority in Newcastle’s urban sustainable logistics."

BT is rolling out the Street Hub units across a range of major cities in the UK with Sheffield joining places like Birmingham, Nottingham, and Glasgow.

BT today announced a partnership with HPE to offer customers a new managed service powered by HPE Aruba Networking delivering improved performance, flexibility and control of local area networks (LANs). It combines BT’s global reach and extensive experience in the design, deployment and management of in-building wired and wireless connectivity with the latest HPE Aruba Networking LAN solutions. 

Many legacy LANs struggle to support hybrid workers’ expectations when accessing apps in offices, branches, warehouses, factories or campuses. This is exacerbated by increasing use of bandwidth-hungry video collaboration tools. Colleagues also expect consistent and reliable Wi-Fi connectivity around the building. The increasing number of connected devices, including internet of things (IoT), adds further complexity and cyber security risks.

BT’s new HPE Aruba Networking Managed LAN service will allow customers to securely modernise connectivity to support changing workstyles and keep apace of IoT demands. 

As a first step, BT audits the LAN to identify what is already in place and what could be re-used and anything that should be replaced. HPE Aruba Networking provides interoperable technology that can avoid the need to replace the entire network. BT will work collaboratively with the customer to manage costs by providing a staged approach to modernisation with benefits realised at each stage.

BT then evaluates how to secure and protect connected devices. It simplifies visibility by giving customers a single dashboard hosted in the cloud. This centralises reporting, analytics, security, scalability and resilience in one platform to help customers deliver a consistent end-user experience. It can also identify redundant devices using unnecessary power and automate network and energy optimisation.

Andrew Small, director of voice and digital work, Business, BT Group, said: “It’s clear that legacy in-building networks can’t handle modern hybrid working and IoT devices, never mind what comes next.  That’s why we’re expanding customer choice of managed LAN solutions by partnering with HPE Aruba Networking. This will offer the visibility, flexibility and security customers need to deliver productive, trusted wired and wireless connectivity.”

“Global customers that are building their connectivity strategies are focusing on modern enterprise networks that are secure, agile, responsive to business needs and simple to operate, while being powerful drivers of transformation,” said Phil Mottram, executive vice president and general manager, HPE Aruba Networking. “HPE Aruba Networking is at the forefront of reinventing how customers and partners can consume or deliver business-outcome focused networking, and by integrating our AI, security, automation, and Network as a Service capabilities, our global managed LAN service with BT is an example of how the network is helping customers achieve their business objectives.”

The move is part of Lyca Mobile’s strategy to build on its heritage of delivering reliable, low-cost international calling to target a broader value-seeking market by satisfying customer demand for cost-effective mobile connectivity built around three priorities: value, service and reliability.

The new partnership with BT Wholesale will mean that Lyca Mobile’s customers in the UK will gain direct access to EE’s 4G and 5G radio access network. EE was this year named the UK’s best network for the 19th time running by RootMetrics®, rating the network top for reliability, speed and accessibility. EE’s 5G network has availability in nearly every UK town and city covering more than 68% of the UK population, and its 4G network already covers 99% of the population.

As well as connectivity advantages, the customer experience will be enhanced through the full-service wrap provided by BT Wholesale. The partnership will also provide Lyca Mobile customers with future access to services such as WiFi calling.

Richard Schäfer, Lyca Group CEO, said: “The partnership with BT Wholesale is a critical milestone in Lyca Mobile’s strategy to target a broader section of UK mobile users with compelling offers designed to give consumers what they want from their mobile provider - which is quite simply cost-effective and high-quality services. Network performance has become a vital concern for mobile users in a competitive market. Through the EE network, Lyca Mobile customers will not only enjoy the low-cost services we’re famed for, but will be able to enjoy super-fast connectivity and improved coverage.”

Alex Tempest, MD, BT Wholesale, said: “This major new MVNO deal with Lyca Mobile reflects the ongoing importance of wholesale to BT and is testament to the high quality of service we provide to customers and the strength of our EE network – the UK’s best network according to Rootmetrics.*

“Thanks to this partnership, Lyca Mobile customers will receive access to EE’s 4G and 5G network, which currently supports data speeds that are around four times as fast as what they received previously**.

“The deal will see Lyca’s entire customer base move across to EE in what is set to be record time, with BT Wholesale team showing industry-leading capabilities in ensuring a smooth transition of an MVNO between networks.

“We now look forward to working closely with Lyca Mobile as part of this new long-term partnership and aim to provide the best mobile experience for customers.”

Earlier this year, Lyca Mobile announced a freeze on its prices until the end of 2023 amidst industry-wide rises, and has guaranteed EU roaming for customers across its plans. This provision will continue unchanged under its new partnership with BT Wholesale.

BT Wholesale is one of Europe’s largest wholesale telecoms providers and provides communication, collaboration and connectivity services to a range of partners. Its dedicated MVNO Team has many years of experience and supports over 50 brands, providing mobile services to almost 3 million end users.

Notes to editors

UK’S NUMBER 1/BEST NETWORK: Rankings based on the RootMetrics® UK RootScore® Report: H2 (July - Dec) 2022. Tested at locations across the UK with the best commercially available smartphones on 4 national mobile networks across all available network types. Your experiences may vary. The RootMetrics award is not an endorsement of EE. Visit ee.co.uk/claims for more details.

** Four times faster claim based on median download speeds of 58.5 Mbps (EE) and 14.1 Mbps (O2) reported in 2H 2022 by RootMetrics. Visit https://rootmetrics.com/en-GB/content/uk-mobile-performance-review-2h-2022 for more details. 

Street Hubs offer a range of benefits including free ultra-fast WiFI, free emergency calls and rapid device charging.

They also provide wayfinding information for tourists and have the capacity to be fitted with signal boosting 4G and 5G cells.

The first Street Hubs were switched on  today at the sites in Arundel Gate, Brook Hill, Wicker and Bradfield Road, and form part of BT’s rollout of even better mobile and WiFi connections for communities across the UK.

As part of the initiative, BT will also be gifting free advertising to small businesses as they face increased costs during the current economic situation.

The company is donating up to £7.5 million of outdoor advertising space to small businesses across the UK as part of the rollout of the new digital units.

Michael Smy, Head of Street at BT, said: “Street Hubs bring improved and enhanced digital infrastructure and ensure that we are providing communities with the facilities that are fit for the future.

“As one of the biggest cities in the UK, Sheffield is the ideal location for these units which will benefit those living, working and visiting the city. 

“Gifting free advertising to small businesses in the area also means we are able to play our part in supporting the city’s economy.”

One of the first businesses in the city to benefit from the free advertising space will be Harrison Cameras, based in London Road. The organisation won a competition to land the free advertising space which will be on display on hubs across the city.

Darren O’Brien of Harrison Cameras said: "We are a photographic retailer and our store has been a fixture on London Road for 50 years.

“We have become an important part of the community over that time and through support, sponsorships and charitable endeavours we aim to give back as much as we can.

“Winning this competition will give us a wonderful opportunity to re-engage with that community and reach a new generation of customers after a difficult couple of years."

BT is rolling out the Street Hub units across a range of major cities in the UK with Sheffield joining places like Birmingham, Nottingham, and Glasgow.

Earlier this year BT Group also announced plans to open a flagship new office in the city for up to 1,000 colleagues. The organisation is expected to take up residence at the landmark Endeavour building, based at Sheffield Digital Campus, by the end of 2023.

EE Smart Home Security powered by Verisure and EE Cyber Security powered by Norton will give us greater momentum on our journey to becoming the most personal, customer-focused technology brand in the UK.

Moving into new categories like smart security will help EE be more relevant and more important to our customers in all that they do with the connectivity we provide every day. With our assets – brand, trust, billing relationships, digital capability and a brilliant customer service team based 100 per cent in the UK – along with these exciting new partnerships, we bring something unique for customers and to our partners too.

Our tie-ins with Verisure and Norton are the latest example of how we’re transforming the EE brand with new products and services beyond the mobile, broadband and TV services that are traditionally expected from us. EE Smart Home Security powered by Verisure, which launches today, combines our best-in-class mobile connectivity with the latest home security tech and outstanding customer service in an accessible and affordable solution. And we know the home isn’t the only place everyone wants to feel safe.
 

Smarter cyber security

Cyber security is another area where we know we can do more. EE is part of BT Group, which means our customers already benefit from BT’s existing team of more than 3,000 security specialists helping to keep its network and customers safe from cyber-attacks as well as the latest network security to help keep them and their family safe online.

EE has been at the forefront of the fight against scammers since we launched our text anti-spam filter last year. It blocked more than 200 million scam texts in less than 12 months. In addition, our EE firewall technology uses AI to review calls passing through UK Calling Line Identification from other countries. It helps us block up to one million international scam calls each day.

So, what’s next? Coming in November is EE Cyber Security powered by Norton. It will provide powerful protection against viruses and other online threats, plus it notifies customers if their personal information is found on the dark web, or if their accounts on popular social media sites have unusual login activity. Users can also create and store strong passwords more securely to help protect online accounts and keep personal information safer.

EE will also launch a free, annual online check through its EE website, giving customers an easy and fast way to find out if their email addresses have been exposed on the dark web.

In partnership with Norton and Verisure, we can do really great things – just like we are doing in gaming. Only last week, we set out our ambition with EE to become the UK's number 1 network for gamers with a new supercharged gaming offering.
 

Game on

Customers can now press play on our bespoke Nintendo and PlayStation bundles, choosing the latest, best-in-class gaming products via spreadable payments, interest-free with Add to Plan, and a nationwide roll-out of in-store gaming bays in more than 175 EE retail stores. It is all being overseen by EE’s new internal gaming team, who I know are already looking forward to the launch of more exciting gaming products, services and flexible options designed to provide great value and convenience. And all underpin with 5G and fibre connectivity that make our network unbeatable for gaming.

Thank you to every single one of our people at EE who has worked so hard to make our smart security and gaming offerings happen. And thank you to all of you who continue to work hard to deliver the best network experience for our customers.

We’re not finished there: in the coming months we’ll reveal another partnership that will demonstrate how we are a service and a brand that will stand for much more than a mobile and broadband network. It will move us yet another step closer to being the most personal, customer-focused technology brand in the UK.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @marcallera

BT and SEACOM today announced a strategic alliance which will help SEACOM further secure its own infrastructure and deliver new networking, security and communications solutions to enterprise customers in Africa.

As a leading Internet connectivity supplier that owns Africa’s most extensive ICT infrastructure, SEACOM will be leveraging BT’s services, vendor relationships and global expertise to expand its portfolio of services aimed at African businesses. Since the launch of its Business division, SEACOM has substantially grown its customer and partnership base to strengthen its offerings and serve customers beyond existing markets.

SEACOM’s customers will benefit from access to BT’s Cloud Security Incident Event Management (SIEM) platform. In today’s business environment data, business applications and users live beyond an organisation's traditional network. SIEM tools provide real-time visibility and monitoring across the organisation's entire IT environment, providing an ideal security overlay to SEACOM's existing ICT solutions.

BT protects some of the world's largest organisations from a myriad of fast-evolving cyber threats with a global network of dedicated 24/7 Security Operations Centres (SOCs). BT’s more than 3000 cyber security experts help customers detect, analyse and quickly respond to cybersecurity incidents as they happen.

“We’re excited to form this strategic alliance with BT and see the combined value of what we bring to our respective markets. With SEACOM’s global network and local presence, and BT’s global reach and expertise, we will be able to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of Cloud, security, and connectivity services that are reliable, scalable, and at the cutting-edge of industry,” says Oliver Fortuin, Group Chief Executive Officer of SEACOM.

Alessandro Adriani, director of system integrators and telecom service providers at BT’s Global unit, said: “We are thrilled to deliver BT’s world-class solutions to SEACOM and to their customers across the African continent. The areas of secure multi-cloud connectivity, next-generation networking solutions and collaboration services are the sweet spot where SEACOM and BT will combine their respective strengths.”

BT today announced it is building a flexible, resilient and secure network for Deutsche Post DHL Group to support the global logistics powerhouse in its drive to digitalise supply chains in a sustainable way.

The new eight-year agreement continues the long-standing relationship between the firms. It will see BT deploy the latest technology to transform connectivity for DPDHL Group in 27 countries across Europe, including the UK.

Deutsche Post DHL Group is the world’s leading logistics company. It focuses on delivering exceptional customer service and innovative sustainable transport solutions for increasingly digitalised supply chains.

The new network will be a key enabler of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s strategy, helping the company digitalise and automate its business in a sustainable way.

It will be based on the latest technologies that combine the scale and flexibility of the internet with security and resilience to deliver trusted performance. It will be optimised for the cloud, where Deutsche Post DHL Group increasingly hosts its applications and digital services used by 350,000 employees at 1500 sites across the regions.

Sustainability is a fundamental part of the network transformation. BT will audit Deutsche Post DHL Group’s existing network to identify and remove copper cables wherever possible, replacing them with fibre connections to optimise energy consumption.

BT’s networks use 100 per cent renewable electricity and the company employs science-based emission reduction targets across its business.

Anna Spinelli, Chief Procurement Officer, Deutsche Post DHL Group, said: “Our relationship with BT builds on strong foundations and a common purpose to connecting people and improving lives. Thanks to this new long-term agreement, both companies have strategically committed to work closely together to enable the best performing, flexible and sustainable network, globally.” 

Bas Burger, CEO, Global, BT, said: “We are proud to work with Deutsche Post DHL Group, a globally respected logistic company driven by a purpose that mirrors our own. Like BT, it places customer service, the power of technology and sustainability at the heart of its corporate strategy. Our new partnership gives us the opportunity to achieve our respective growth ambitions and contribute towards common goals.”

The technology and telecoms firm is also using its own assets, including phone boxes and its Street Hub 2.0 digital units, so its mobile arm EE can house hundreds of small cells to boost capacity in high demand areas. Small cells are mobile radio cells that help to provide better coverage for customers at street level, where it’s often impractical to install larger mobile masts or where an offloading capability is required.

The programme will allow EE customers to experience uninterrupted data speeds of up to 300Mbps in areas including Croydon, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Nottingham. The infrastructure will be delivered over the next 18 months and can also support 5G network coverage in the future. In addition to enabling small cell deployment by EE, BT is also working with other UK mobile network operators to deploy small cells around the UK to help extend and densify their high-speed mobile network coverage.

Brian More O’Ferrall, Director, Mobile Operators in BT’s Enterprise business, said: “Around 200 of the small cells are already live and are helping to boost 4G coverage for EE customers in towns and cities across the UK.

“We have worked closely with our local authority partners to utilise their street furniture, as well as our own assets, to improve connectivity in these areas.

“Ensuring good digital infrastructure is a priority for many councils, especially with the rise in mobile device ownership and growth in demand for data and connectivity, and they have seen the benefits that such partnerships can provide.

“Not only does it mean that average download speeds can often double in some areas, but it’s also more efficient and means there is a reduced need for new cell masts in the localities.

“We’re pleased to be working with EE and other mobile network operators to deliver this coverage boost.”

The small cells will be deployed across the UK including the following areas:

• Birmingham
• Croydon
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• Leeds
• Greater London (including numerous London boroughs)
• Greater Manchester
• Newcastle
• Nottingham
• Leicester
• Cardiff

Councillor Muhammad Ali, Croydon Council’s cabinet member for sustainable Croydon, said: “Demands for digital connectivity are set to grow even more over the next few years and this partnership with BT means we are able to ensure better mobile coverage for our residents, visitors and businesses.

“With 12 EE small cells already installed and an additional 20 to follow over the next 18 months, it’s fantastic that our existing street furniture, together with BT assets, can provide a simple and efficient solution to fast-track mobile network infrastructure in our borough.”

BT is using its new Street Hub 2.0 units to site small cells and further boost connectivity, which comes after a recent survey by the company found that two thirds of small firms agree that mobile connectivity could be improved in their area. The new units have already been rolled out in Glasgow, Nottingham and London. Subject to local planning processes, BT is aiming to roll out around 300 Street Hub 2.0 units across the UK this year, working closely with local councils and communities.

Today’s announcement also comes after the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport recently launched its new Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator (DCIA) scheme to enable telecoms firms to get easier access to public buildings and street lights, bus shelters and traffic lights to mount small cell equipment for 4G and 5G networks.

Through the pilots managed by DCIA, BT will be working closely with DCMS and local authority partners to further accelerate small cell deployment across the UK.

BT today announced a five-year contract with Alstom, one of the world’s leading providers of systems, equipment and services for the mobility sector, to upgrade its global network with the latest cloud-optimised connectivity solutions.

The new network will connect Alstom’s operations at 350 locations in 60 countries, including manufacturing plants, offices, depots and data centres. It will provide agile and secure access to company applications and services used by Alstom’s employees[i], of which 24,000 have been working remotely during the pandemic.

Working with BT consultants using the Smart Transformation process, which aligns the right solutions to business needs, Alstom chose a managed network service based on the VMware SD-WAN solution. It will be delivered by BT over its new digital service platform.

The service will help Alstom accelerate its “move-to-cloud” strategy. It will improve the company’s visibility of network traffic allowing it to optimise end-user experience. It also includes a range of fully-managed or co-managed options giving Alstom the flexibility to take control of individual aspects of change management.

Nicolas Vurpillot, network and network security director, Alstom, said: “The move to internet as our primary network is part of our strategic plan: Alstom in Motion. It will provide secure, scalable and reliable access to applications while reducing cost and improving co-management. Following a thorough assessment of available SD-WAN technologies, BT demonstrated willingness and capability to innovate, enhance service levels and partner with Alstom to help us achieve our strategic goals.”

Joris van Oers, managing director, resources, manufacturing and logistics & Europe, Global, BT, said: “We’ve been connecting Alstom’s global operations since 2015 and are delighted to have been chosen again. Alstom will benefit from the very latest VMware SD-WAN service combined with our trusted security, high reliability and a range of management options. It is a great example of how our new generation of managed connectivity services give customers choice and flexibility when planning for their digital future.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

VMware and VMware SD-WAN are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

[i] The contract does not cover operations of the newly acquired Bombardier Transportation.

BT announced today it has signed a contract with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide communication services to their embassies and consulates in 120 countries using the latest software defined networking technology.

The contract is valued at 33 million euros over the initial period of four years, with an option to be extended to a total duration of up to nine years. It was won in a public, EU-wide tender procedure.

The new network services will form the foundation for the ministry’s digital transformation journey and will enable secure collaboration internally as well as with external partners. Users will benefit from secure access to data and cloud services.

Joris van Oers, managing director for Europe at BT, said: “I am really proud that the Dutch government has put their trust in us to connect their embassies and consulates around the world. We can build on many years of experience serving public sector customers such as EU institutions and governments in many countries, and we are happy to support the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on their journey into a more digital future.”

Notes to editors

BT will provide the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs with WAN, LAN and Wireless LAN services. By using latest software-defined networking technology, the agile infrastructure will support the increasing consumption of cloud services. The contract was initially closed for a duration of four years, with the option to be extended to a total duration of up to nine years.

BT today announced the launch of a new generation of cloud-optimised managed network services to expand multinational customers’ choice of software-based connectivity solutions. The first service, based on industry-leading VMware SD-WAN, is available to customers globally and already in live deployment.

Traditional wide area networking requires dedicated, proprietary vendor hardware to be installed at each customer site. BT’s new managed service is based on generic hardware capable of supporting a choice of software-based networking solutions from different vendors.

With almost 70 different SD-WAN solutions on the market, the choice can be overwhelming. BT consultants can help customers with the best solution to fit their needs. They also advise on security, offering a range of options to meet customers’ own security policies.

The service can be managed or co-managed remotely by BT on its new digital service platform. This gives customers a single view of their entire network and a choice of management controls.

Andrew Small, director of global portfolio at BT, said: “Our new managed service further expands customers’ choice of software-defined networking solutions. Presently available with industry-leading VMware SD-WAN, it is delivered over our new, digital service platform. The solution is fully supported by our consultancy services to help customers maximise the benefits of performance, agility and flexibility for their businesses.”

Sanjay Uppal, senior vice-president and general manager, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and SD-WAN business, VMware, said: “We are excited to work with BT to help multinational enterprises around the world with their digital transformation during these unprecedented times and beyond. Together, we are committed to providing customers a cloud-first, more secure, automated, and scalable wide area network.”