Enterprise teleconference: First inter-operator Cisco telepresence demonstration

[Marketwire] AT&T, BT, and Tata Communications today took a significant step forward to deliver Cisco TelePresence™ services globally, by conducting the industry's first multipoint, intercompany Cisco TelePresence meeting across multiple carrier networks. AT&T, BT and Tata, together with Cisco, demonstrated the technical ability for a Cisco TelePresence user to call others on any carrier network with high levels of security and reliability.

Highlights / Key Facts:

* Inter-carrier intercompany services have the potential to allow Cisco TelePresence users to call one another across participating networks, reliably and with high levels of security.
* The demonstration at Cisco Live 2009 consists of inter-carrier Cisco TelePresence connections between the following sites on AT&T, BT, and Tata Communication's networks:
o AT&T Telepresence Solution sites in Bedminster and Morristown, N.J., and Chicago, Ill.
o A BT site in Colorado Springs, Colo.
o A Cisco site at Cisco Live in San Francisco
o Tata sites in Boston and London
* This demonstration is another key step in Cisco's strategy to bring Cisco TelePresence to everyone, everywhere. It comes on the heels of recent announcements including Cisco TelePresence Extended Reach for one-screen systems over T-1 speeds, HD video conferencing interoperability, and Cisco WebEx™video interoperability.
* More than 350 organizations have selected Cisco TelePresence for more than 2,300 rooms to improve collaboration and productivity and accelerate business decisions. Cisco TelePresence is one of the fastest-growing emerging technologies.
* Cisco has also installed more than 500 Cisco TelePresence rooms on its own internal network for greater productivity and effective collaboration.

* Marthin De Beer, senior vice president, Emerging Technologies Group, Cisco
"Today's demonstration marks a significant milestone for Cisco's service provider partners and our customers. With inter-carrier intercompany Cisco TelePresence, we're extending the power of video communications and collaboration across network service providers to bring people a new visual experience that's as easy as making a phone call."

* Bill Archer, chief marketing officer, AT&T Business Solutions
"Inter-carrier connectivity is the next step in building out TelePresence for improved collaboration for businesses throughout the world. With the AT&T TelePresence Solution we are providing companies today with the ability to interact with customers or other key businesses in a highly-secure environment. Looking to the future, AT&T is committed to working with other network service providers to bring this proof of concept to market as soon as possible."

* Jeff Prestel, general manager, Video Business Unit, BT Conferencing
"To drive the ultimate value from TelePresence services, enterprises need to be able to collaborate with colleagues, partners and customers, regardless of their network provider. We are delighted to participate with Cisco to help empower our customers to experience the versatile, easy-to-use and reliable communications of the future and to enable customers to maximize the return on their TelePresence investment."

* Peter Quinlan, director, Managed TelePresence Services, Tata Communications
"This proof of concept with AT&T and BT showcases how Tata Communications will conveniently support B2B sessions among any connected private and public Cisco TelePresence rooms, on the Tata Communications global network and also inter-carrier. This pioneering global service pushes managed TelePresence from being a private intra-company experience to an open inter-company experience able to bring together the full ecosystem of employees, partners, customers and prospects. This open inter-carrier B2B capability enriches Tata Communications' comprehensive approach to managed TelePresence services."

AT&T, BT and Tata Demonstrate Industry's First Cisco TelePresence Call Across Multiple Carrier Networks