KPNQwest Thursday penned agreements with Akamai Technologies Inc.
and Inktomi Corp.
to bring added
functionality for content distribution and streaming media to its
pan-European IP network.
KPNQwest is a pan-European Internet
data communications company that delivers over a 12,500-mile fiber-optic
network connecting 50 cities throughout Europe. Akamai Technologies Inc. is a provider of
services for the delivery of Internet content, streaming media and
applications; Inktomi Corp. is a
developer of
scalable Internet infrastructure software.
As part of the strategic agreements, KPNQwest will add access to Akamai’s
content
delivery capabilities as part of its portfolio of value-added Internet
services. The service is aimed at customers requiring access to content
beyond
the reach of KPNQwest’s European footprint.
Further, KPNQwest will incorporate Inktomi network
products into its facilities-based network as the core enabling technology
for efficiently managing, tracking and distributing content and high-quality
streaming media services.
The integrated solutions aim to provide KPNQwest’s
customers with improved access and delivery of content and applications, a
higher quality Internet experience and the ability to provide accurate and
up-to-date information on Web site usage.
KPNQwest has plans to build the largest CDN-enabled pan-European IP
network, in which Inktomi Traffic Server, Content Delivery Suite and
Inktomi Traffic Server Media-IXT will be implemented as core CDN
infrastructure technology.
The Inktomi platform will be deployed across KPNQwest’s pan-European
backbone consisting of 18 mega-cybercenters built on
top of KPNQwest’s network.
“Through the partnerships, KPNQwest will now be able to ensure
significantly faster, more reliable and higher performance end-user
experiences,” said Julf Helsingius, chief technology officer of KPNQwest.
“This is another sign of the Internet’s incredible growth in Europe,”
noted Wolfgang Staehle, president, Akamai Europe. “Our highly successful
program in the U.S. for enhancing Web performance is quickly translating to
Europe and across the globe.”
Thursday’s announcements highlight the significant role content
distribution service providers will play in Europe, added David
Peterschmidt, Inktomi’s president and chief
executive officer.
“Our caching and content distribution
technologies, combined with KPNQwest’s extensive network assets and
management expertise, will bring a new level of content and application
services to the marketplace,” he said.