SAN FRANCISCO - June 18, 2008 - Reliance Globalcom Services, Inc., the leading provider of managed network and application delivery services for the global enterprise, today announced it is delivering a mix of network connectivity services to Philadelphia University. Reliance Globalcom's Premium Internet Service, which the university recently scaled up to 45 Mbps, facilitates Web-based video and data communications for students, staff and faculty across the 100-acre main campus. A direct fiber link via Reliance Globalcom Managed Metro Ethernet Service extends high-bandwidth connectivity to the university's satellite campus two miles away, which houses third-year architecture studios and the university's research facilities.

 

The 45 Mbps Reliance Globalcom service offers the university a number of benefits.

• With an increasingly bandwidth-intensive course curriculum, Philadelphia University selected Reliance Globalcom's managed network services for unparalleled performance and strong service level guarantees.
• The Reliance Globalcom Ethernet network eliminated the complexity of handling the multiple T1 (1.5 Mbps) lines the university once used for connectivity and enabled it to avoid the high cost and inflexibility of consolidating traffic onto T3 (45 Mbps) lines, which typically require expensive interface cards.
• The availability of the Bandwidth OnDemand functionality, which provides flexible, granular control to scale bandwidth instantly in 1 Mbps increments from 1 Mbps to 1 Gbps, will allow Philadelphia University to optimize its network resources on demand should its bandwidth needs change.

 

"Reliance Globalcom's Ethernet service enabled us to step away from an antiquated network based on a rapidly declining telephony-based technology to a fiber-based technology with tremendous bandwidth potential," said Jeff Cepull, vice president for information resources and CIO of Philadelphia University. "The large volume of work coming from our architecture school, which has the largest number of students, is incredible, but the Reliance Globalcom network can handle it. And the involvement of the Reliance staff and the network's incredibly high reliability rate are priceless."

 

University Chooses Reliance Globalcom for Capacity, Availability, and Reliability
Philadelphia University's curriculum requires high bandwidth and scalability to support disciplines like disaster medicine, design, and architecture. Philadelphia University put a priority on capacity and network availability in selecting Reliance Globalcom's managed services. Another major driver for seeking increased bandwidth was the steep increase in video content; faculty will suggest that students look at TV - everything from YouTube to The Daily Show - as part of their coursework. The new 45 Mbps service has also enabled the university to increase VPN access from users' homes to its network. With its high-capacity network in place, the university is now looking into bi-directional video and videoconferencing, both streamed and live.

 

This summer, the Reliance Globalcom network will be put to the test when the university's disaster medicine program hosts a live exercise at the remote campus involving first responders from all over Pennsylvania as well as federal agencies. The university will handle communications for the region-wide exercise. "We couldn't do this without the bandwidth and technology that Reliance Globalcom offers," said Cepull. "If we need extra network resources during the program, we'll be able to get them right away with Bandwidth OnDemand. With other providers it can take 25 days or more to get more bandwidth."

 

The reliability of the Reliance Globalcom services was also a major driver in Philadelphia University's decision. Reliability is integral to the university's pandemic planning, for example. Should it lose the ability to instruct students on campus, the university could fall back to Reliance Globalcom's on-demand gateway to provide the extra bandwidth needed for on-line or remote instruction. The quality of Reliance Globalcom's customer service was another selling point.

 

"We're extremely pleased with the level of communication we have with Reliance Globalcom concerning any type of maintenance, emergencies, and plans," said Kerry Fretz, director of network and systems at the university. "We'll get notifications of downtime even when it's less than 30 seconds; our previous provider never notified us proactively about downtime. Reliance Globalcom also responds very quickly to our calls; it could take hours for our previous provider to get back to us."

 

"Philadelphia University's IT challenges and concerns face many universities and colleges nationwide," said Keao Caindec, CMO of Reliance Globalcom. "They're struggling with the ever-increasing need for bandwidth, which is driven both by data and video-intensive coursework. Our Premium Internet Service, with its guaranteed performance, offers educational institutions an ideal way to keep pace with the insatiable appetite for bandwidth."

 

For More Information
Reliance Globalcom Managed Metro Ethernet Service:
http://www.relianceglobalcom.com/services/managed-metro.php
Reliance Globalcom Managed Premium Internet Service:
http://www.relianceglobalcom.com/services/mpi.php
Yipes Bandwidth OnDemand:
http://www.relianceglobalcom.com/services/ondemand.php

 

About Reliance Globalcom Services, Inc. (formerly Yipes Enterprise Services, Inc.)
Reliance Globalcom Services, Inc., the Enterprise business unit of Reliance Globalcom, is the leading provider of managed network and application delivery services for the global enterprise. Reliance Globalcom's custom data networking solutions empower businesses by delivering high performance, dynamic control, unmatched service quality, and rapid ROI. Enterprise customers worldwide take advantage of Reliance Globalcom's managed Ethernet services to enable voice, video and data convergence, data centralization and collaboration. Reliance Globalcom's specialized offerings and obsession with customer satisfaction ensure that the company anticipates our customers' every need. More than 1000 enterprise customers worldwide rely on Reliance Globalcom's high-performance managed services to improve their competitive advantage. Reliance Globalcom is a Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani company. For more information, visit www.relianceglobalcom.com.

 

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Contact:
Jeannette Bitz
Engage PR
+1 510-748-8200 x207

 

Contact:
K.C. Du Fay
Reliance Globalcom Services, Inc.
+1 415-901-2321