BT closes 21CN trial

Following the successful migration of the first live customers onto its 21st Century Network (21CN) in South Wales, UK carrier BT is closing the next generation IP voice trial network it switched on in 2005.

The move coincides with the announcement that Paul Reynolds, one of the key figures behind the carrier’s 21st Century Network strategy, has resigned. Reynolds will be leaving BT in September to take up the position of CEO of Telecom New Zealand.

The trial network links BT exchanges in central London, Woolwich and Cambridge, and has carried over 160 million calls in its life cycle.

BT is migrating some 350,000 customers in Cardiff and the surrounding area onto 21CN over the course of this year, before focusing on the mass implementation of the new network.

Matt Beal, CTO of BT Wholesale said the closure of the 21CN voice trials marks the end of one critical phase of BT’s comprehensive testing programme for 21CN.