The highly reliable AT&T IP Backbone allows AT&T to take a position as a Tier 1, world-class provider of IP services, meeting all of the criteria listed above. Some of the many features of the AT&T IP infrastructure – all owned and controlled by AT&T – include:
Multiple, high-speed OC-48 (2.5 Gbps) and OC-192 (10 Gbps) interoffice trunk facilities; AT&T was the first ISP with a fully operational, coast-to-coast OC-192 IP Backbone; AT&T was first ISP to establish a cross-country OC-48 link and the first to carry live customer traffic via an OC-192 link
A highly reliable core network, consisting of more than 53,000 miles of fiber optic cable and more than 80 self-healing SONET rings – more than any other carrier in the industry
An additional 16,500 miles of next-generation (OC-192 and OC-768-capable) fiber currently being deployed
Default-free routing, in which packets flow directly from the AT&T IP Backbone to other ISP networks via peering or customer connections – the most direct route possible
PeerMon, a real-time monitoring tool that detects possible changes or modifications to the routes of AT&T’s routes as advertised by peers in order to enhance routing stability
Consistently low latency, supported by Service Level Agreements (SLAs) of 60 milliseconds for a network-wide average roundtrip between city pairs in the US and 120 milliseconds for the average round-trip delay of the fastest link between New York and London and between Washington, DC and Amsterdam
Low packet loss, with a network-wide average of no more than 0.7%
Multi-layered security architecture and physical security for all backbone nodes
Support for Virtual Private Networks, intranets and extranets, Web hosting, IP-enabled fax, IP-EDI, managed security services and much more
Multiple access choices, including dial, private line, ATM, frame relay, cable modem and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
Global reach through points-of-presence in 850 cities in more than 50 countries