21CN

An initiative being put in place by BT to enter a new phase of the digital word; according to the BT 21CN website:

“21CN is BT’s global, software-driven customer network that introduces new next generation services, faster than ever before.”

21CN means an extensive upgrade of BT’s infrastructure, taking several different network infrastructures and forming a single end to end solution. The new initiative has been created to increase customer satisfaction and form a future-focused phase.

New products and services will be available with the new 21CN infrastructure, allowing voice data and content to be combined more easily. Some services already being forged include BT Vision, a television service combining TV and broadband for greater consumer control. BT Fusion has also started life as a fusion between mobile and landline services, allowing customers to swap when necessary, particularly useful for office or home-based workers.

BT’s current technology runs on 17 separate platforms, in essence what 21CN will achieve is the integration of all these platforms into one IP-based network. The network will be more streamlined, meaning an increase in efficiency, speed and costing.