FRONTIER SIGNS $68 MILLION DEAL WITH WILLIAMS FOR 3,000 MILES
August 4, 1998
FIBER OPTICS NEWS via NewsEdge Corporation --
Frontier Corp. gets some miles and Williams gets some
help in building its fiber network in the $68 million pact
the companies signed on July 27.
Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams [WMB] will provide Frontier
[FRO] with 3,000 route miles of multiple fiber-optic routes
connecting three fully redundant fiber rings through
Atlanta, Houston, Miami and Tampa.
It is one of the largest in a series of deals by Williams as
the company tries to leverage capacity on its fiber
network to cut costs and accelerate its three-year, $2.7
billion network expansion.
Williams Network is expanding from its current
11,000-mile base with new construction as well as fiber
swap agreements with other companies. Williams says it
has virtually completed work on an 1,800- mile route from
Houston through Atlanta to Washington in pipeline
right of way.
...Also In The Works
Meanwhile, work in partnership with two other
companies is nearing completion on a 1,680-mile route
from Portland, Ore., through Salt Lake City to Las Vegas.
Other projects are on schedule, including construction
from Houston to Dallas, Washington to New York, and
Minneapolis-Kansas City-Denver-Salt Lake City.
In all, Williams Network will grow to 18,000 miles with 69
cities by the end of 1998 and 32,000 miles connecting 100
cities by the end of 2001.
Williams is using ATM technology as the core
transmission platform, using OC-192 transport systems
with dense wave division multiplexing to deliver up to
160 gigabits per second in 16 waves on a single fiber.
"Customers such as Frontier are key to expanding our
wholesale network and reducing our capital costs," says
Howard Janzen, president and CEO of Williams
Communications.
The deal fills in gaps on both sides. Williams customers
include regional Bell operating companies, long-distance
service providers, interexchange carriers, local exchange
carriers, Internet service providers and utilities. Frontier's
target markets are small- to medium-sized businesses and
carrier customers with high-bandwidth requirements.
...A Good Fit
"Since we are building our network with our customers'
needs in mind, we looked for a network expansion
strategy that would fit those requirements, " says
Joseph Clayton, Frontier president and CEO. "Williams
provided us with a solution that made good economic
sense, added additional routes for reliability, and
provided customers in the Southeast quicker access to
our optronics network. We also agreed to exchange
capacity and work cooperatively with Williams where it
is cost-effective and complements our respective
networks."
Frontier's base 13,000-mile, 24-strand national fiber
network is scheduled for completion in early 1999.
An additional 1,600 miles of OC-48 capacity in the
Northwest will come on-line before year end, the
company reports. With these Southeast rings, Frontier's
network will become an 18,000-mile system connecting
120 cities in an 11-ring design by the end of 1999.
(Joseph Clayton, Frontier, 716/777-7954,
frontiercorp.com; Howard Janzen, Williams,
918/573-3692, wilcom. com.) |
