Rogers Business Solutions has signed an agreement with Sprint that allows business customers in Canada and the U.S. to operate on a seamless IP-based network through a new MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) network-to-network interface (NNI).

The Rogers network connect to Sprint's network with consistent technology, service level agreements, and in-country support on both sides of the border, the companies describe.

"With such a large number of businesses having sites in Canada and the U.S., we know there is a significant market that can benefit from this service on both sides of the border," said Randy Reynolds, president, Rogers Business Solutions. "Rogers is committed to investing in IP-based data technology to

support and expand its growing share of the business market."

MPLS will be the telecommunications solution of choice for companies looking to avoid certain capital costs and the ongoing expenses of hiring and training technical support staff. Cross-border offices can operate seamlessly on an IP-based network, experiencing seamless connectivity with security,

redundancy and quality of service.

"Partner MPLS capabilities become an extension of Sprint's network and businesses experience the same high-quality performance and service they have come to expect from Sprint," said Dan Dooley, vice president of international business, Sprint. "Our agreement with Rogers is the first of many

international NNI partnerships that Sprint plans to complete this year."

Rogers' MPLS solutions operate on its national IP network, which was among the first in Canada to receive Cisco Systems' multi-service VPN certification. This designation certifies that Rogers possesses the network infrastructure to provide and support the most bandwidth-intensive VPN

applications, such as voice, video/multimedia, and data transmission in three specific areas of performance: network delay, jitter, and packet or data loss.