Through the delivery of these services BT is enabling large private and public organisations to innovate with confidence in tough times.

Ethernet Connect is BT's adaptive high performance Ethernet VPN (virtual private network) service. It is designed for large organisations that require exclusive control over their IP architecture and the freedom to evolve their infrastructure and innovate in their own way.

Ethernet Connect is available in six new countries bringing the total to 28 countries, with additional countries covered through long lines.

Simultaneously, BT is now offering to its customers, across those same 28 countries, a new E-LAN service, dramatically increasing flexibility for organisations with ambitions to use Ethernet "any to any" connectivity between sites. It is used typically to connect sites and applications that have complex and rapidly changing network traffic patterns.

Ethernet Connect also allows customers to gain the benefits of both worlds by combining E-Line and E-LAN services, improving an organisations ability to retain control of the IP architecture and innovate. BT also differentiates itself by offering end-to-end service management to the customer premise as standard. This means faults are fixed faster.

According to Joel Stradling, principal analyst at Current Analysis, "BT can offer its clients a greater choice of data WAN end-to-end services. Customers increasingly need flexible bandwidth and high performance, and Ethernet fits the bill. BT can offer hybrid layer 2 Ethernet VPN plus IP/MPLS VPN service to help its enterprise clients achieve the best-fit solutions. With this extension into new countries and the launch of its E-LAN service BT is clearly improving its position in the global Ethernet market."

Further expansions of Ethernet Connect are planned with increased international coverage in the coming months.

Neil Sutton, VP Global Portfolio, BT Global Services, said: "BT Connect, our portfolio of network services, is now an even richer set of services that meet the different needs of our global customers, covering IP, Ethernet, Internet and application performance management. Our customers are looking for choice and flexibility to meet evolving needs. For those of our customers requiring specific services for specific needs or for those that require exclusive control of their IP architecture, Ethernet Connect is now a great global service. By extending the availability of that service to 28 countries and adding capabilities such as E-LAN, we are now offering a highly compelling solution in the market."

Ethernet Connect, including E-LAN service, is as of today available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Rep of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK and the United States.