Call-Net Enterprises Inc. Connects Top 24 Canadian Cities With Largest National Optical Fibre Network
news.excite.com
TORONTO, Aug. 11 /CNW-PRN/ - Call-Net Enterprises Inc. announced today the commissioning of its recently completed network, with the addition of three rings in Central and Western Canada. As a result, Call-Net Enterprises now operates its own 14,600-kilometre broadband optical fibre network - Canada's longest high capacity network.
The full network now consists of four regional rings totaling 14,600 route kilometres and state-of-the-art optical solutions from Nortel Networks which provide high quality transmission, as well as full redundancy for higher reliability.
The three additional rings greatly expand the Company's original network by adding 12,300 route kilometres to its original network capacity. The Central ring links Toronto to Winnipeg through a northern Canadian route via Sudbury and Thunder Bay, while the southern US route connects
Winnipeg and Toronto via Minneapolis/St-Paul, Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit and Sarnia. The Prairie ring connects Winnipeg to Calgary through a northern route via Saskatoon and Edmonton and a southern route via Medicine Hat and Regina. The West ring links Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and
Kamloops.
The already existing East ring consists of a 2,300-kilometre route and links Toronto, Ottawa and
Montreal through an all-Canadian northern route and a southern route via Rochester and Buffalo in the US. The national network will connect Canada's top 24 of 25 major urban markets which represents 65% of the total Canadian addressable market. The top 10 major markets are Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa/Hull, Edmonton, Calgary, Quebec City, Winnipeg, London/St. Thomas, and Guelph/Kitchener.
``The commissioning of our own Canadian network marks the achievement of another important phase of our development strategy and takes us a step closer towards becoming a fully integrated Canadian telecommunications company,' declared Juri Koor, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Call-Net Enterprises Inc. ``This strategic asset will not only secure our current standing in the Canadian telecommunications industry but also creates a stronger base from which to pursue future growth.'
Construction work for the three additional rings was completed in February 1999. Following extensive
testing, the network was successfully commissioned in early April. Since then, the Company's customer traffic -- which had been carried over competing telephone company facilities -- is being transferred onto the Company's own newly completed network.
The new network relies mainly on state-of-the-art technology provided and installed by Nortel Networks which includes OC-192 SONET and Nortel Networks Multi-wavelength Optical Repeater (MOR) Systems. The equipment is installed in more than 100 sites along the new route.
``Operating our own network carries a number of important benefits,' said Juri Koor. ``From an operational perspective, it gives us greater control over all phases of traffic transmission. The selected ring architecture and upgraded technology deliver much higher reliability, a benefit which is key for providing high quality service to fulfill ever-more demanding customer needs.
``From a cost perspective, it will also result in significant savings as the bulk of our Canadian traffic will
now transmit over our own facilities, which avoids the higher charges of other carriers.'
Call-Net Enterprises Inc. is a rapidly growing publicly-owned Canadian telecommunications company
offering local and long distance voice, data and online services nationwide principally through its Canadian marketing arm, Sprint Canada Inc. The Company also owns and operates an extensive North American network and has operations in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Common Shares and Class B Non-Voting shares of Call-Net Enterprises Inc. trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Montreal Exchange under the symbols CN and CN.B respectively. The Class B Non-Voting shares also trade on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol CNEBF.
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