MCI Upgrades Suite Of Managed LAN Services

MCI has expanded its suite of managed LAN services, allowing companies of all sizes to fully or partially outsource the management of their local area networks, while laying the foundation for next-generation services like IP communications and IP contact centers.

The suite of services is designed to help businesses reduce the complexity of managing networks, while making it easier to deploy converged networks. Previously, MCI's managed LAN services were only available as custom solutions to MCI's largest customers.

Managed LAN Services are available immediately to MCI WAN customers in the U.S. MCI says that the services are particularly well-suited for companies that need a new LAN or help in managing one. For firms requiring a new LAN, MCI will assess and design the local area network, including provisioning and implementing the solution, providing access, transport, customer premise equipment (CPE) and continuous network monitoring and management. MCI can also take over the management of an existing network.

The suite includes a choice of three levels of LAN management, including Premium (where the local area network is fully managed by MCI), Basic (shared LAN management between the customer and MCI), and Monitoring & Notification, (MCI monitors the network only).

With the Premium service, businesses receive ongoing management and proactive notification as well as full logical and physical CPE fault isolation to keep their networks continuously running. MCI can also recommend and deploy appropriate security mechanisms, ranging from policy development to access control to audit and breach detection services.