GBLX ahead of schedule!!! Looking to get even bigger. You have to admire their foresight.
Fez
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Thursday September 16, 2:42 pm Eastern Time
Global Crossing looks beyond dark fibre
LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Global Crossing Ltd (Nasdaq:GBLX - news), the Bermuda-based communications company, said on Thursday it is ahead of schedule in building parts of its network, and plans to add Web services to its offering.
The Nasdaq-listed group, which plans an optical fibre network to link 170 cities in 24 countries worldwide to enable faster Web access, said it was extending its focus from just shore-to-shore provision of ``dark,' or unused, fibre.
Besides the $6.4 billion trunk high-speed network the company, which aims to close the purchase of U.S. Frontier Corp (NYSE:FRO - news) by end-month, will build on services already offered by Frontier and plans new city network rings.
``We are not looking for the last mile to residential subscribers, although we don't rule them out through partnerships,' co-founder David Lee, in London for the opening of a control centre, told a news conference.
Over the first three quarters of next year Lee said Global Crossing would start offering services to include Web hosting. Frontier's current clients include portal Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO - news).
Application services -- Web-based services for companies seeking to outsource non-core activities -- global conferencing, and calling card and voice products would also be on offer.
Wim Huisman, Global Crossing President Europe, said the group would complete its network ring running to Marseille, France, by the end of third-quarter 2000, a quarter ahead of schedule.
In a couple of weeks, the design should be finalised for another ring to add the Iberian pensinsula -- Spain and Portugal -- to be ready for service by end-2000, he added.
So far about 14,300 route-km of Global Crossing's planned network spanning 175,000 km are in service, with 55,500 km of the total under contract, or construction, officials said. |
