[NEXTLINK Completes Initial Broadband Wireless Field Testing in Los Angeles and Dallas; Deployment to More Than 25 Cities Nationwide Underway]
MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2000--NEXTLINK Communications, Inc., one of the nation's fastest growing providers of broadband communications services, announced the completion of its first generation broadband wireless field tests and the availability of commercial broadband wireless services to a limited group of customers in Los Angeles and Dallas.
"The technology performed well during the field trials," said NEXTLINK Chief Technology Officer Doug Carter. "There are very obvious opportunities with our existing and potential customers to provide point-to-point broadband wireless service and we intend to capitalize on these quickly. Additionally, the first generation point-to-multipoint technology performed as expected, and we are beginning lab testing of the second generation equipment that we plan to deploy throughout our networks this year."
NEXTLINK expects that broadband wireless will extend "fiber-like" capacity to many businesses that are prohibited from having fiber networks directly connected to their office buildings due to cost considerations. All access services -- fiber, broadband wireless, DSL and copper connections -- will be marketed under the NEXTLINK brand name and eventually sold based on the data speed and capacity. All will come with appropriate service level agreements.
"We have had a very good experience using NEXTLINK's broadband wireless access," said Keith Waggoner, chief operating officer of Dallas-based MacFarlan Real Estate Services. "The transition was quick, seamless and painless. We've been happy with the quality of the service and are now offering it to other tenants in our managed building."
On January 10, 2000 NEXTLINK and Concentric Network announced they had entered into a definitive agreement for the combination of the two companies, creating a next-generation, broadband communications company that will provide a full range of voice, data and Internet communications services. The transaction, valued at approximately $2.9 billion, is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. Over time it is expected that NEXTLINK's broadband wireless service will provide high capacity connectivity for many of Concentric's data and Internet service customers.
"Broadband wireless will allow a lot of businesses to participate in the broadband revolution that might otherwise have been excluded," continued Carter. "And in many cases, it will be the only way these businesses can get the data capacity and speeds they would like."
During the field trials NEXTLINK tested broadband fixed wireless point-to-point and point-to-multipoint equipment. NEXTLINK will continue to evaluate vendors for participation in the company's national rollout this year. NEXTLINK intends to have broadband wireless service operational in 25 markets by the end of this year. |
