Williams Technology Centre Qatar to Be Supported by AT&T's Advanced Communications Services

DOHA, Qatar and OXFORDSHIRE, England, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Williams F1, the parent-company of the AT&T Williams team, has announced it has chosen AT&T* to be the global network provider for the newly establish Williams Technology Centre (WTC) located at the Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP).

AT&T will provide the WTC with a suite of advanced communications services to support its development and provide seamless communications between the new centre and Williams F1's headquarters located in the UK at Grove, Oxfordshire. This will make certain the Qatar based centre becomes a virtual extension of the team's core operation in the UK, ensuring speedy collaboration between the two locations and a consistent IT environment deployed at both sites.

In cooperation with a Qatar licensed operator, the core component of the AT&T service will be the provision of a high bandwidth connection to the AT&T Williams Virtual Private Network (VPN) provided by AT&T. This is a critical component of the team's IT infrastructure, supporting real time communication within the company and with key suppliers and vendors. From this foundation service, a suite of advanced applications will be available for deployment at the WTC including network based security, and collaboration and productivity tools and web based conferencing. The Centre will also have access to the team's web hosting environment supported by AT&T's hosting services.

Alex Burns, CEO of Williams F1 welcomed the agreement: "The Williams Technology Centre is an important business diversification for Williams F1. The centre will be technology focused with the aim of driving development and innovation of our flywheel and simulator technologies that have their origins in Formula One; its success will partly depend on seamless and reliable collaboration between our in-house experts in Qatar and at our HQ in the UK. It's natural for us to select AT&T as our business grows because they have already shown that they are highly capable of delivering against our communication requirements on a global basis for the AT&T Williams team in Formula One. We are looking forward to extending our very successful relationship to our operation in Qatar."

Commenting on the deployment of the new service, John Gibson, President of AT&T in the Middle East and Africa said, "We have developed our presence in the Middle East in recent years so we can support these types of services for global companies who need access to consistent infrastructure and applications wherever they operate. Williams is able to use the power and reach of the AT&T network and ensure that their Qatar operation and its IT support are fully integrated with their business in the UK, allowing their engineers and executives to maximize collaboration and productivity tools and to operate as seamlessly as possible."

In recent years, AT&T has made significant investments in the Middle East. In 2006 the company had access to its first Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) technology node in the region in Qatar (Doha). Since then AT&T has had access to nodes in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), Saudi Arabia (Jeddah) and Kuwait.  Last year, AT&T opened a new regional headquarters in Dubai's Internet City.

AT&T's global network provides services for multinational companies throughout the MEA region and offers customers access to its advanced portfolio of Internet Protocol (IP) based managed communications services including hosting, security and worldwide connectivity.  

QSTP is a world class incubator for the research, development and commercialization of new technologies that has attracted significant R&D investment from some of the world's leading multinational companies.

The Williams Technology Centre at QSTP will be the first Formula One-related Technical Centre outside the sport's traditional heartland of Europe. The WTC will initially be tasked with the progression of two Formula One inspired R&D projects with clear commercial goals, namely the development of an industrial application large Magnetically Loaded Composite (MLC) flywheel and the advancement of Williams F1's simulator know-how for competition and road car application.

QSTP is part of the Qatar Foundation which also incorporates Education City, which hosts overseas campuses for six US universities including Carnegie Mellon and Texas A&M. The Williams Technology Centre will be housed in the 45,000m2 state-of-the-art QSTP complex forming part of the Qatar Foundation's strategic ambition to invest in, and propagate, a knowledge-based, post-carbon economy.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. A leader in mobile broadband, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T |DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising. In 2010, AT&T again ranked among the 50 Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE® magazine.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at the AT&T Web Site. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at AT&T Newsroom, and as part of an RSS feed at AT&T RSS Feed. Or follow our news on Twitter @ATT. Find us on Facebook at the AT&T Facebook to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at AT&T Small Business Facebook to discover more about our small business services.

© 2010 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. Mobile broadband not available in all areas. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.