We asked Head of Core Network Implementation Colin Dalton for 5 facts on eircom’s new NGN core.

(1) Extreme resilience: The geographic and logical resilience we've built into the NGN is exactly what Wholesale customers need to give end customers cast-iron SLAs on core network availability. Each of our four core sites has two core routers, each of which is itself resiliently connected at 10 Gbps to its twin and to the IP edge routers it serves. We don't like to say "bulletproof," but this core is as near as.

(2) Built on Alcatel Lucent: Alcatel Lucent 7750 SR 12s are at the core of the network. They were our chief engineer's choice from a competitive selection, not least because of the router's excellent queuing capacity and finely grained capabilities for class of service.

(3) We've only just begun: Phase 1 of the core rollout is approaching completion, with 100 Core Node locations serving over 500 exchange areas. A further 140 locations will be rolled out in 2011/12. The NGN core rollout demonstrates our belief in and ongoing commitment to doing our part for Ireland's fibre infrastructure. We're continuing to plan how we can improve the speed and control we offer to Wholesale customers, including improvements in class of service.

(4) The stage is set for your Layer 3: eircom's core build out around Ireland gives Wholesale customers the freedom to develop and deploy layer 3 services, anywhere within reach of one of our aggregation points. For Internet services, an end customer's router is just a single IP hop to the wholesale customers own router, so that end customer see your DNS and your IP addressing for a consistent branded service.

(5) NGN delivers the speed Wholesale customers need: We know that our new services like NGN Ethernet are delivering the speed many Wholesale customers have long asked for. Total switching capacity of the routers at the core is 3.2 Tbps, and for products like NGN Ethernet we're keeping an eye on how much the Ethernet standard will support next, whether 40 Gbps or 100 Gbps. We're serious about our commitment to focus on what Wholesale customers need, in terms of speed but also in terms of reach and control. Nothing delivers speeds like fibre, and we are pretty excited about the potential for the core to deliver benefits to customers and right across the Irish economy, now and into the future.

Want to know more about the core? Contact wholesalemarketing@eircom.ie for our NGN Core e-book.