Pat , [ Does this count? ]
>>If we're lucky, we'll see more and more ISPs announcing highspeed upgrades which will serve the same purpose as cable threats a few months ago. >>
Is this what you were talking about ??
Ray
WorldCom Demonstrates New High-Speed Internet Access Service At FCC Bandwidth Forum
PR Newswire - January 23, 1997 10:16
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New xDSL Service Solves Telephone Network Congestion Problems
By Side-Stepping Local Phone Company Switching Bottlenecks
Access at 768 Kbps Per Second -- Up to Twenty Times Faster
Than Today's 28.8 Kbps Modem
View the Forum Live at 9:00 AM EST -- www.mfst.com/FCC
JACKSON, Miss., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- WorldCom, Inc. (WorldCom)
announced that it is demonstrating its new xDSL service today at the Federal
Communications Commission's (FCC) Bandwidth Forum. WorldCom's xDSL service is
the first to offer higher-speed Internet access over traditional copper
telephone lines. Not only is the new service designed to make faster,
affordable Internet access possible for small and mid-sized businesses, it can
also reduce the level of congestion on traditional telephone networks. MFS
Communications Company, Inc. and UUNET Technologies, now divisions of
WorldCom, announced this new service in December of 1996. Those interested
can view the Forum live at 9:00 AM EST -- www.mfst.com/FCC.
WorldCom's live presentation demonstrates the speed and ease with which a
business can access the Internet using the company's new xDSL service. This
demonstration shows how users can access the Internet at speeds four to twenty
times faster than today's 28.8 Kbps modem. And, since this new xDSL service
bypasses the conventional telephone network switch, the connection avoids
growing congestion on local phone companies' switches.
WorldCom's demonstration uses computers to access text and video images
from the Internet, using different access technologies. Two separate computer
links use WorldCom's 768 Kbps xDSL service (highest speed in the demo); and
another four links use unswitched 128 Kbps ISDN, a service pioneered by
WorldCom.
WorldCom's new xDSL service will first be made available early in the
first quarter of this year in selected markets, followed by a nationwide roll-
out. The service will provide access to the Internet at meaningful speeds for
the first time over traditional telephone lines, so that users will not have
to waste precious time waiting for information to appear on their screens.
"Until now, small and mid-sized businesses seeking to capitalize on the
enormous potential of the Internet were forced to rely on inexpensive, but
slow dial-up modem lines or fast, but expensive dedicated lines," said Ron
Vidal, vice president of new ventures for WorldCom. "Our business customers
have asked us for more cost-effective, higher-speed Internet access options,
and this new service is the first such offering to meet this demand."
Moreover, the service does not require additional telephone lines be
installed. Instead, the new service makes use of existing copper lines that
connect the customer directly to the local telephone company central office.
This piece ? the network is known in the industry as the "local loop."
Through existing agreements -- negotiated under the Telecommunications Act of
1996 -- WorldCom has access to these "local loops" and is connected to
numerous local telephone company central offices across the country.
WorldCom is a leading provider of integrated long distance and local
telecommunications services, offering domestic and international voice, data,
Internet and video products and services to business customers, other carriers
and the residential market. The company operates a nationwide digital fiber
optic network in the United States and has worldwide network capacity. Its
World Wide Web address is: wcom.com. The common and depositary
shares of WorldCom trade on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbols WCOM
and WCOMP, respectively.
Live video software provided by Graham Technology Solutions, a leading
provider of streaming video for the Internet.
SOURCE WorldCom, Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Josh Howell, 402-231-3405, or Gil Broyles, 918-590-5752,
or Investors, Gary Brandt, 402-231-3432, all of WorldCom |
