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SBC Companies to Design, Implement and Manage Cisco Technology in One of Nation’s Largest IP Telephony Deployments with More Than 50,000 Users in 110 Ford Facilities
Managed IP Telephony Services Expected to Increase Productivity
And Deliver Cost Savings for Ford
MILWAUKEE, Sept. 21, 2004 – SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) today announced the signing of a contract with Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) that calls for SBC companies to design, implement and manage a state-of-the-art Internet Protocol (IP) telephony system for Ford’s headquarters and other facilities in southeast Michigan. When completed, the project will be one of the nation’s largest deployments to date of IP telephony, also known as Voice over IP (VoIP).
SBC companies will work to deliver substantial operational savings for Ford over the course of the contract, with savings realized through network convergence, as well as efficiencies gained through SBC management of the IP telephony application. The solution, based on technology from Cisco Systems, converges Ford’s disparate communications networks into a single IP-based network, carrying voice, video and data.
SBC companies will deploy a fully customized solution based on the SBC PremierSERVsm IP Telephony Advantage platform, using the Cisco Systems’® IP Communications system. The network will include approximately 50,000 Cisco IP telephones, rolled out to users in 110 Ford facilities in southeast Michigan over three years. SBC PremierSERV Managed Care engineers will work on-site at Ford’s data center in Dearborn to manage the service on an ongoing basis through the course of the contract.
“We are very excited to have the opportunity to work with Ford in this groundbreaking IP telephony deployment,” said Ray Wilkins, group president, SBC Marketing and Sales. “SBC companies bring years of voice and data experience to the table. That knowledge, along with our focus on delivering fully managed services, enabled us to work with Ford to assemble the right strategy to meet its unique needs.”
IP telephony will enable Ford to take advantage of a number of operational efficiencies. In addition to the benefits of network convergence, IP telephony service provides plug-and-play functionality – employee moves, adds and changes can be managed instantly, and businesses can scale up or down without calling vendors or ordering new cards.
“We look forward to working with Ford and the SBC family of companies — two world-class organizations — to deploy this state-of-the-art network. This will allow Ford to explore new communications applications, such as integrated voice, e-mail and video services,” said Rick Moran, Cisco vice president of the Product Technology Marketing Organization for IP Communications.
Network consultants from Callisma, Inc. (an SBC company) will work with Ford throughout implementation to help assure a seamless integration of the IP telephony service into Ford’s existing network infrastructure. To ensure the highest levels of service reliability and compatibility with Ford’s existing communications infrastructure, all elements of the new Ford system will be fully tested under real-world conditions at the SBC staging center in Memphis, Tenn. At the staging facility, SBC engineers test equipment under operating conditions that match those of the customer, allowing SBC companies to optimize equipment and identify and resolve any potential issues well before installation at the customer’s location.
Beyond the IP telephony contract, SBC Long Distance is working with Ford to deliver services for its facilities in Michigan. Additionally, the SBC family of companies is working with Ford to serve as the primary channel for Cisco equipment for the company’s data network.
The contract expands a longstanding relationship between Ford and the SBC family of companies. SBC companies have provided Centrex voice services to Ford since 1986, and Ford today uses SBC GigaMAN® Service, a point-to-point Ethernet solution, for high-bandwidth connectivity between its southeast Michigan locations.
The SBC family of companies is one of the nation’s largest providers of IP telephony services for business. The majority of equipment incorporated into SBC business voice solutions today is IP-enabled. SBC companies also have been widely recognized by industry and financial analyst organizations as a leader in the evolution of IP telephony technology.
SBC companies today offer a comprehensive range of data and voice networking services for businesses of all sizes. In addition to the SBC PremierSERVsm IP Telephony Advantage platform, the extensive SBC IP portfolio includes a network-hosted IP Telephony option as well as options for businesses looking to add some of the features of IP Telephony to existing networks.
About SBC
SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves 25 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation’s leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also now offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC companies and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.
