News: "Williams Communications Links Next-Generation Networks in U.S. and Australia"
Southern Cross Capacity, Agreement with PowerTel,
Complete Multiple-Fiber Pacific Connectivity
TULSA, Okla., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Williams Communications (NYSE: WCG) and PowerTel Ltd. (ASX: PWT) are establishing new high-speed links between their market-leading networks in the United States and Australia, opening the Australian market to full participation in the growth of the global Internet.
In conjunction with the agreement between Williams Communications and PowerTel, Williams has acquired significant capacity on the Southern Cross Cable Network, an undersea fiber-optic cable linking Australia and New Zealand with Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States. Southern Cross is expected to begin carrying traffic in November, offering hundreds of times the capacity of current cables serving Australia.
"Williams Communications' new capacity on the Southern Cross network enhances the company's role as a worldwide provider of connectivity for the carrier market," said Howard Janzen, president and chief executive officer of Williams Communications. "We are especially pleased to complete the physical connection with our strategic ally PowerTel -- an alliance that will provide customers both in the U.S. and Australia with unsurpassed products and services."
In a memorandum of understanding, the companies have agreed to work together to develop a complete set of data and voice products and to send traffic to each other's networks on a "preferred vendor" basis.
"Our specialized U.S. platform, plus our new global connectivity, make Williams Communications the true market leader in serving the needs of carrier customers," Janzen said. "We are completing construction this year of the largest next-generation network in the United States at 33,000 route miles. This nationwide network, in conjunction with our initiative to construct local access links in the top 50 U.S. cities, allows us to connect key markets in the U.S. and abroad via trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific fiber."
Williams Communications has capacity agreements in place for fiber-optic cables between the U.S. and Europe; has an agreement to acquire fiber in cables connecting the U.S. with China and Japan and an intra-Asian submarine cable linking important financial capitals throughout the Pacific Rim.
This robust global framework fully leverages Williams Communications' strong presence in the U.S. carrier marketplace as the only provider focused on serving carriers with traffic transiting both from and to the U.S. market. In its agreement with PowerTel, Williams Communications will serve a market in which analysts expect to see a doubling of traffic volumes each year for the next five years.
The physical fiber connection further reinforces the strategic link between Williams Communications and PowerTel. Williams is a 41 percent shareholder in PowerTel and has played a strong role in the development of the company since it began building Australia's first next-generation network in 1998. PowerTel is building a long-haul network of nearly 2,000 miles linking major cities in eastern Australia. It has established network links between Brisbane and Sydney and is nearing completion of links to Canberra and Melbourne. PowerTel also is on track to connect 325 buildings to its network by year-end.
"Our agreement with Williams Communications underscores our view that Australia is primed to be a major participant in a global economy driven by electronic commerce," said Stephen Butler, chief executive officer of PowerTel. "With Southern Cross as a high-capacity link between our two next-generation networks, we will effectively remove the bandwidth bottleneck that has constrained many companies in Australia from extending their reach throughout the Pacific, to the U.S. and to the global marketplace."
Williams Communications' award-winning U.S. network has more than 24,000 route miles in operation with a planned total of 33,000 route miles connecting 125 cities by the end of this year. Williams typically installs ninety-six to 144 fibers in every network build with multiple conduits, leaving spare conduits open to meet future needs. The fully integrated architecture of the Williams Multi-Service Broadband Network(TM) couples ATM core switching with advanced optical networking technologies to provide carriers with data, voice, video and Internet services.
About Williams Communications Group, Inc.
Williams Communications, through its subsidiaries, is North America's only exclusively carrier-focused fiber-optic network and the largest independent source of end-to-end integrated business communications solutions -- data, voice or video. Based in Tulsa, Okla., Williams Communications had revenues of $2 billion in 1999 and today has more than 9,500 employees primarily in North America, with offices in Europe and Asia and investments in South America and Australia. Approximately 85 percent of WCG stock is held by Williams (NYSE: WMB) which, in 1985, became the first energy company to harness its core competency as a builder of networks to enable competition in the communications industry. Additional information is available at www.williamscommunications.com and www.williams.com .
About PowerTel
PowerTel, a managed business solutions provider to corporate and carrier markets in Australia, is the third largest telecommunications carrier in Australia. Formed in 1998 by a consortium of three Australian utilities companies, its primary shareholders include the DownTown Utilities consortium and Williams Communications. PowerTel has established network links between Brisbane and Sydney, with links to Canberra and Melbourne nearing completion. It has connected more than 150 buildings to its inter-city network, on target for completing connections to 325 buildings by the end of the year. Additional information is available at www.powertel.com.au .
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Portions of this document may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined by federal law. Although the company believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. Any such statements are made in reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in the company's annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This news release is not an offer to sell, nor the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities. Any offer will be made only by means of a prospectus registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACTS: Gil Broyles, media inquiries, 918-573-4740 or
gil.broyles@williams.com, or Patricia Kraft, investor
inquiries, 918-573-0649, or patricia.kraft@williams.com, both
of Williams Communications, Inc., or Sonya Crosby,
media/investors, of PowerTel, +61-2-8235-3865, or
crosbys@powertel.com.au
SOURCE Williams Communications, Inc.
CO: Williams Communications, Inc.; PowerTel
ST: Oklahoma, Australia
IN: CPR TLS
SU: PDT
05/14/2000 23:51 EDT prnewswire.com |
