21CN is BT's next-generation network, widely regarded as the most advanced in the world. It is however, much more than just a new IP network infrastructure.

21CN provides a global platform for software-driven collaboration between BT and its customers and partners. It enables BT customers to do things differently, to enter and compete in new markets worldwide and to define, create and co-create communications services that enrich people's lives and enhance businesses.

BT developed the flexible and intelligent 21CN to deliver new communications services such as Ethernet, next generation broadband and future voice, that will meet UK customers' requirements today and in the years to come.

The UK has shown a remarkable appetite for new communications services. Broadband has become a mass market service - it is the fastest growing consumer technology service of all time and the UK is one of the world's leading broadband markets. 21CN will underpin the delivery of the newest communications services - from high-speed broadband to mobility solutions of a sophistication and power as yet unimagined by the average user. Customers will have full control over their services, creating a self-service environment, in which they will be able to customise, personalise and change the communications services they receive in real time to meet their own individual requirements.

Which 21CN-enabled services can Timico provide?

In 2008, Timico Group was selected as an early trialist of BT's 21CN. Through delivery of our high speed pipe into BT Wholesale's Broadband Managed Connect (WBMC) network, initial trials with Timico customers began later that year. From February 2009, we began the process of migrating onto the new network those existing Timico customers located in exchanges which have gone live with 21CN service capability.

Our customers are now therefore benefiting from Timico's ADSL2+ service, which although some claim delivers speeds of up to 24Mbps, realistically many users get in excess of 16Mbps - much faster than existing ADSL Max connections, enabling a range of new, super-fast advanced telephony and IP services.

In time, we hope that all customers of Timico, including those who currently source their DSL connectivity through our wholly-owned subsidiaries of KeConnect and Twang.net, will benefit from the increased speeds of data transfer.

What are the benefits of moving to 21CN with Timico?

Delivering higher speeds, 21CN also brings with it a roadmap to a host of new networking features. So what does this mean for business?

In the first instance, 21CN supports ADSL2+ for its broadband technology. This provides up to three times the download speed of existing ADSL Max connections, depending on your distance from the exchange. Customers can typically expect up to 16Mbps download and a 1Mbps upload.

Secondly, BT has the widest Ethernet footprint in the UK and as exchanges are enabled around the country, 21CN will facilitate lower cost Ethernet leased line services. Available speeds of up to 1Gbps will revolutionise the way organisations connect geographically distributed locations.

This in turn will change the way you run your business, making it easy to get high quality site to site video conferencing, remote online back up and storage and providing a robust, reliable infrastructure for important financial and business functions.

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