SINGAPORE, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T Inc. announced today that AT&T is rolling out the first utility-based Internet Protocol Telephony Service over the AT&T Multi-protocol Label Switching (IP MPLS) network in Asia for Air Products . The solution will enable Air Products to consolidate its customer contact centre in Asia to support seven markets -- Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia with immediate effect and China, Taiwan and South Korea in 2007.
The AT&T IP MPLS network provides a simplified, scalable infrastructure that enables Air Products to deploy applications and services like IP Telephony to increase the number of communication channels with the company's customers. The utility-based IP Telephony model means that Air Products will pay only for the services it uses, rather than making significant capital investment. This provides flexible options for both service levels and usage- based pricing plans, which will give Air Products more cost-effective control of their network management.
"The key driver for the deployment of this network is customer service excellence," said Virgil Palmer, Director, Global IT Sourcing Management Office, Air Products. "The new infrastructure from AT&T will enable us to centrally and remotely service our customers with the same processes throughout the entire region. We expect response time and service efficiency to be significantly improved."
The first phase of the project has just been completed, and covers customers in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. All of the IP Telephony equipment is hosted at AT&T's Internet Data Centre in Singapore, while the contact centre operations will be in Malaysia. During the first stage of deployment, the contact centre will serve customers in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and Mandarin.
The second phase of deployment will expand the contact centre operations to cover the China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong markets. After completion of the second phase, the contact centre will cover all the main languages across these markets, including Mandarin, Korean and Cantonese.
Previously, Air Products used an analog system, which restricted its communications channels to voice only. IP Telephony cost-effectively enables Air Products to communicate with its customers across multiple channels, including voice, email and fax.
"Our partnership with AT&T stretches over 20 years and has been very successful. We decided on the AT&T solution because the proposed infrastructure was the most comprehensive and could offer us the best returns on our investment," said Palmer.
Solutions and services deployed by AT&T will include its IP Telephony solution, an Enhanced Virtual Private Network, a hosting solution for the data centre and Global Inbound Services. Avaya, Inc. will be the main provider of telecommunications equipment. AT&T is deploying this comprehensive solution in cooperation with local providers of telecommunications service in some countries.
Collis Loh, AT&T Singapore country manager, said, "This is the first utility-based contact centre solution we have deployed anywhere in the Asia Pacific region, and we are delighted that Air Products has entrusted this critical part of their business to AT&T. Asia is AT&T's fastest growing market worldwide, and we are ideally positioned to support the needs of both regional and global MNCs with next-generation solutions and services across the region and worldwide."
About Air Products
Air Products serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment and is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indices. The company has annual revenues of $9 billion, operations in over 30 countries, and over 20,000 employees around the globe. For more information, visit http://www.airproducts.com/ .
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. is one of the world's largest telecommunications holding companies and is the largest in the United States. Operating globally under the AT&T brand, AT&T companies are recognized as the leading worldwide providers of IP-based communications services to business and as leading U.S. providers of high speed DSL Internet, local and long distance voice, and directory publishing and advertising services. AT&T Inc. holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which is the No. 1 U.S. wireless services provider with 58.7 million wireless customers. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and AT&T products and services is available at http://www.att.com/ .
Subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. provide products and services under the AT&T brand.
For more information and detailed disclaimer information, please review this announcement in the AT&T newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom .
© 2006 PR Newswire
