SBC Receives FCC Approval to Activate Project Pronto's
Neighborhood Broadband Gateways
FCC order will allow SBC to offer DSL from neighborhood gateways,
making high-speed Internet service available to millions of additional
consumers
SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 2000-- SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC - news), the nation's leading
provider of DSL service, announced that a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling issued today will allow SBC to
begin providing DSL service through neighborhood broadband gateways deployed as part of the company's $6 billion Project
Pronto initiative. The neighborhood broadband gateways will push the capabilities now housed in central offices closer to
consumers, removing current DSL distance limitations and making virtually all consumers in SBC's metropolitan markets eligible
for DSL service.
``We are pleased with the FCC ruling, which allows SBC to bring the benefits of broadband Internet service to millions of
consumers who were previously outside the range of our DSL service,'' said Mike Turner, president, SBC broadband services. ``In
addition to expanding our DSL footprint, the neighborhood gateways will also enhance the quality of our network, making it
easier to provide voice and data services. Unlike cable modem service, our lines are open to competitors - so our deployment
won't just benefit SBC and our customers, it will benefit other DSL providers as well.''
Under the FCC ruling, which grants a waiver of the merger conditions for Project Pronto assets, SBC will offer DSL service from
the neighborhood gateways on a wholesale and non-discriminatory basis to competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs),
including Advanced Solutions Inc., SBC's data subsidiary.
SBC is already conducting market trials of the neighborhood broadband gateways with 10 data CLECs. The market trials are
being held in Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Kansas City, San Jose, Sacramento, Fair Oaks, Calif., Riverside,
Calif., Santa Rosa, Calif., and Danbury, Conn., and are being used to test ordering, provisioning, billing and maintenance and
repair processes.
SBC plans to activate approximately 4,000 neighborhood gateways by year-end, and 18,000 by the end of 2002. Combined with
SBC's DSL-equipped central offices, the neighborhood gateways will enable SBC to make DSL service available to more than 80
percent of its customers by the end of 2002. Through the central office deployment already underway, about 45 percent of SBC's
customers - more than 16 million homes and businesses - are currently eligible to receive SBC's DSL service.
SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is a global communications leader. Through its subsidiaries' trusted brands -
Southwestern Bell, Ameritech, Pacific Bell, SBC Telecom, Nevada Bell, SNET and Cellular One - and world-class network, SBC's
subsidiaries provide local and long-distance phone service, wireless and data communications, paging, high-speed Internet access
and messaging, cable and satellite television, security services and telecommunications equipment, as well as directory advertising
and publishing. In the United States, the company currently has 61.2 million access lines, 12.2 million wireless customers and is
undertaking a national expansion program that will bring SBC service to an additional 30 markets. Internationally, SBC has
telecommunications investments in more than 20 countries. With approximately 219,000 employees, SBC is the 13th-largest
employer in the U.S., with annual revenues that rank it among the largest Fortune 500 companies.
SOURCE: SBC Communications Inc.
Contact:
SBC Communications Inc., San Antonio
Michael Coe, 210/352-6969
or
Matt Miller, 202/326-8844 |
