AT&T follows the money to Sydney
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As part of a push to unify its global network services, AT&T has announced it will be expanding its capabilities in the region -- but only in response to competitors who are already here, according to one analyst.
The US communications giant announced its plans to invest US$1 billion in 2008 to expand its global network and service capabilities, in response to growing demands from its predominantly US multinational customer base.
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As part of the expansion the company will be pushing its Ethernet network services to a further 14 cities worldwide -- including Sydney -- by the end of the year.
"Essentially what AT&T is doing here is playing catch up with Verizon," said David Cannon, telecommunications programme manager at research firm IDC.
"Verizon, AT&T, BT and Orange Telecoms all compete in the same space, they all need to service their multinational customers with an end to end consistency, and this is just a move on AT&T's behalf to ensure that happens," he said.
Cannon said that while BT tends to focus more on its business in Asia, Verizon and AT&T have sought a greater presence in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole, after Verizon expanded its operations substantially here just over a year ago.
"Sydney's a hub in the region, so it makes sense that AT&T would be expanding that service here, it has important customers such as GM that have a significant presence in Australia to service," the analyst said.
The telco announced it would also be building a new sub-sea fibre optic cable to Japan and mainland Asia as part of its new investments in the region.