ITU Telecom World 2003

October 15, 2003
Sprint extends, simplifies global data SLAs

GENEVA -- Sprint announced new, simplified service level agreements (SLAs) across its global data portfolio. These new service performance measures feature common metrics and contract language, and enable Sprint to offer high levels of service across networks.

Sprint has revamped its SLAs to offer customers a choice in service performance levels and service management to suit their varied needs. The new SLAs include a component unprecedented in the telecom industry: 100 percent credit on monthly charges for its premier SprintLink IP services.

Reinforcing its reputation as a global data services leader, Sprint also announced it would offer SLA on jitter, a performance measurement important for supporting real-time VoIP and video-over-IP applications. Jitter is variation in latency and is extremely important for businesses using excess data services bandwidth for videoconferencing or to consolidate intra-company calls.

Eric Paulak, research vice president, Gartner, said: "Multinational businesses want service provider SLAs that are straightforward and offer performance consistency for their entire global network. Currently, across the industry, SLAs aren't going far enough in meeting customers' demands. Fulfilling this need would provide an advantage to the service provider and its customers."

Randy Ritter, vice president, product and portfolio management, Sprint Business, added: "These new SLAs underscore Sprint's commitment to improve all aspects of our customers' experience by bringing greater clarity and ease to their business relationship with Sprint. Multinational corporations who rely on data networks for their businesses are applauding this move to provide service performance measures with greater relevance to their specific needs."

In their entirety, SLAs are designed to be more meaningful by offering standard formats with common measures and the same contract language for IP, frame relay, private line and ATM. Sprint's global data SLAs offer varying service levels, ranging from simple network metrics to fully managed, end-to-end commitments with proactive reporting of credits. All SLAs include service delivery attributes including installation and availability. The different SLA levels are network node-to-node, end-to-end, and managed.

The improved SLAs are designed to fit key business markets in eight regions around the world -- North America, Mexico, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, Australia/New Zealand, South America and the Middle East/Africa. The Sprint jitter SLA, in particular, is crucial to reassuring customers that their voice and video applications can perform effectively over a global data network. Jitter will be increasingly important as customers converge voice and data onto a single network.

Contact:
Sprint
Tel: +1-913-794-3649
barbara.j.mellott@mail.sprint.com
www.sprint.com