BT Infonet, a leading provider of global communications services
for multinationals, and The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. (LHW),
an exclusive organization of luxury hotels, today announced that BT
Infonet has successfully delivered a global MPLS IP VPN solution to
support LHW's integrated voice, video and data services needs. In
addition, BT Infonet also completed the final phase of a three-part
operation, which handles more than one million minutes of call center
traffic across Europe. LHW selected Infonet Contact Centre Services
(ICCS), for its ability to consolidate LHW's Pan-European call center
operations, provide universal international free numbers, provide
consistent responses to clients, and to enhance customer service to
reservation centers in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan.
Headquartered in New York City, LHW maintains a network of more
than 20 regional offices in 18 countries that provide global
distribution, reservations and luxury marketing support to the world's
finest independent hotels, resorts and spas.
BT Infonet's IP VPN solution -- One Voice, was implemented as part
of LHW's commitment to providing both business and personal travelers
with the highest level of quality service and responsiveness. With One
Voice in place, LHW will be able to take advantage of next-generation
technology applications, such as video conferencing, while maintaining
a consistent level of service, experiencing improved visibility into
its global networking operations, and doubling the size of its network
while experiencing a savings of 50 percent in overall network services
cost.
"For 20 years BT Infonet has provided us with an array of new
services that anticipate our evolving communications needs," said
George Lee, director, information technology for The Leading Hotels of
the World, Ltd. "BT Infonet's ability to manage the bulk of the
network implementation process also allowed us to focus more
effectively on our core competency, which is providing our client base
with superior customer support to our network of more than 430 luxury
hotels, resorts and spas around the world," said Lee.
"Our long-standing relationship with Leading Hotels is a testament
to BT Infonet's ability to provide local communications services that
support all twenty of Leading Hotels' sites across three continents,"
said Jose A. Collazo, chief executive officer of BT Infonet. "We've
implemented a very scalable network for LHW so that as new sites are
added and their application and networking requirements grow, our IP
VPN network will be able to quickly adapt to meet their needs."
About The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.
The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. is the prestigious luxury
hospitality organization representing more than 430 of the world's
finest hotels, resorts and spas, and is the operator of www.lhw.com -
the online source for your luxury lifestyle. As the largest
international luxury hotel brand, the company maintains offices in 24
major markets across the globe.
Since 1928, the company's reputation for excellence derives from
the exacting levels of quality it demands of its members, each of
which must pass a rigorous, anonymous inspection covering 1,500
separate criteria.
About BT Infonet
BT Infonet is a leading provider of managed network communications
services for multinational entities, fully owned by BT Group and part
of BT Global Services. BT Infonet offers integrated solutions
optimizing the complex relationship between enterprise applications
and the global network. BT Infonet provides local service support in
over 70 countries and territories and its network is accessible from
more than 180 countries.
Additional information about BT Infonet is available at
www.bt.infonet.com.
About BT
BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications
solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal
activities include networked IT services, local, national and
international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband
and internet products and services. BT consists principally of four
lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT
Wholesale.
In the year ended 31 March 2006, BT Group's revenue was GBP 19,514
million with profit before taxation of GBP 2,040 million.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary
of BT Group and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the
BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New
York.
For more information, visit www.bt.com/aboutbt
