GST Telecommunications Expands Seattle Fiber Network
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PR Newswire - August 05, 1999 09:15
Downtown Ring Provides Access to Central Business District
VANCOUVER, Wash., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- GST Telecommunications, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSTX), a leading Integrated
Communications Provider (ICP) in California and the western United States, today announced that it will build a fiber optic ring in Seattle's central business district. The ring, which will connect with GST's recently announced 75-mile metropolitan area conduit network, is scheduled for completion in November.
Utilizing existing GST assets including its voice and data switches, the downtown fiber optic ring will allow the
Company to directly provide integrated communications solutions and advanced broadband data services to a large percentage of the multi-tenant buildings in Seattle's business intensive downtown area.
"We are excited for the opportunity to strengthen our market presence and enhance our services in Seattle with the
addition of this fiber ring," stated Joe Basile, president and chief executive officer of GST. "Owning and operating our own fiber network means faster installation and provisioning of new services, better operational performance and network security, and more responsive customer care. Additionally, connecting this ring to our extensive
conduit system ensures our ability to expand the network to other parts of Seattle in the future. GST is committed to providing local businesses with advanced, competitively-priced telecommunications alternatives to the incumbent local exchange carrier."
GST established its presence in Seattle in April of 1998 with the acquisition of ICON Communications. With the
activation of its voice and data switches, the Company began connecting customers to its Virtual Integrated Transport and Access (VITA) Network. The VITA network utilizes a combination of packet, frame, cell, and Internet Protocol technology, along with GST's next-generation switching equipment, to combine both voice and data traffic onto a single networking platform, providing for improved cost efficiency and versatility of services.
In April of 1999, GST partnered with Worldwide Fiber USA (WFI) to further expand its network in the Seattle area.
GST's central business district fiber ring will access the conduit network to be acquired from WFI, providing GST with the opportunity to expand its metropolitan network into east Seattle in 2000.
Seattle is also a key access point for the West Coast leg of Next Generation Internet (NGI) "SuperNet" program, a
research and development platform for developing and field-testing high-bandwidth applications and emerging Internet technologies. The "SuperNet" program on the West Coast is being jointly developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Transparent Optical Network Consortium, which includes GST, Nortel Networks, Sprint Communications, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. GST is providing fiber optic backbone and switching facilities for the project. In an announcement last week, the Company announced that it has turned up NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories as the first customer on the research network.
GST Telecommunications, Inc., an Integrated Communications Provider (ICP) headquartered in Vancouver, Wash.,
provides a broad range of integrated telecommunications products and services including enhanced data and Internet services and comprehensive voice services throughout the United States, with a robust presence in California and the West. Facilities-based GST continues to focus on its western regional strategy by anchoring its next generation networks in local markets and connecting them via long haul fiber networks. Visit GST's Web site at www.gstcorp.com.
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