Datacraft builds $1.4m network for Thailand telecom giant

Issued by Dimension Data South Africa
Johannesburg, 24 Jan 2001

Datacraft, London-listed Dimension Data`s Asian subsidiary, has sealed a US$1.4 million contract with Thai Telephone & Telecommunication (TT&T) Public Co Ltd to upgrade its communications infrastructure.

This will enable to telecomunications giant to meet customer demand for faster and more cost-effective data services which support delay-sensitive multimedia streams and Internet business applications.

TT&T is one of the largest network services providers in Thailand. Established in 1992, the company operates a fixed-line telephone network of 1.5 million lines in all the 72 provinces of Thailand, excluding the greater Bangkok metropolitan area.

The deal with Datacraft is a continuation of the inroads which Dimension Data has made into the lucrative global telecommunications service provider sector.

In the last four months of 2000, the global network services and i-Commerce solutions provider concluded contracts valued at around US$80-million from telco service providers in the UK, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US in the past three months.

The new multi-service network, one of the largest in Thailand, will replace the TT&T legacy X.25 network as the core communication platform to run internal mission-critical applications such as customer service, switching and transmission, and network management systems. TT&T also plans to leverage on the new network to offer value-add frame relay services to its enterprise and ISP customers.

"Establishing a frame relay network is the key to creating an Information Superhighway," says Dr. Chuichai Napasab, SVP Network Group of TT&T. "It will strengthen both the technological capability and quality of our services."

All components in the new network are centrally monitored and controlled through Datacraft`s advanced network management system which is based on Dimension Data`s unique Global Services Operating Architecture (GSOA). In building the network, Datacraft will also implement Cisco Resource Pool Manager Server to help TT&T control, manage, and provide accounting data for shared resources in wholesale network access business.

Dimension Data

Dimension Data is a leading global network services and i-Commerce solutions provider, focused on enabling enterprises, telecommunication service providers and new economy companies to communicate and transact effectively in an e-enabled environment.

Dimension Data listed on the London Stock Exchange in July 2000 and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. The Group has over 11,000 employees and operates in over 30 countries on six continents. It has achieved a compound annual growth rate in US dollars of 57 per cent in revenue and 36 per cent in earnings per share over the past two years.