Touch America Expands Fiber-Optic Network in Greater Chicago Area
BUTTE, Mont., Nov 1, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Touch America, the telecommunications subsidiary of The Montana Power Company (NYSE: MTP chart, msgs), announced today it is building a fiber-optic network along the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority's (ISTHA) rights-of-way in northern Illinois and the tunnels and tracks of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to enhance Touch America's ability to provide high-speed, broadband fiber-optic service connectivity for five distinct network routes into Chicago.
The company has signed an agreement with Adesta Communications, a developer of fiber-optic based communications networks, for right-of-way access and construction along the ISTHA and CTA network routes. Adesta will complete the installation by year-end.
"This fiber-optic network link, along with our other fiber-optic routes into the Windy City, will help us connect diverse high-speed, long haul networks coming from Detroit, St. Louis, Denver-Des Moines, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee to downtown Chicago and surrounding suburbs," said Mike Meldahl, president of Touch America. "Chicago is a very important point of presence for us, and this agreement is key to enhancing our national Internet Protocol (IP) based broadband fiber-optic network, which will reach 26,000 miles by year-end 2001."
In March of 2000, Adesta finalized a plan with the CTA to install fiber-optic infrastructure along their Blue Line route that runs between O'Hare Airport (I-294) and downtown Chicago. Earlier this year, Adesta completed construction of a 295-mile fiber-optic network for ISTHA that connects Chicago suburbs and the surrounding states of Wisconsin and Indiana. Touch America's agreement with Adesta will add 187 miles of expanded telecommunications infrastructure to the ISTHA network.
"We are delighted that this combined network complements the strategic goals of Touch America," said Bob Sommerfeld, president of Adesta. "The CTA and ISTHA networks offer diverse, secure routes to a region that has nearly maximized its present infrastructure," he said.
Both ISTHA and CTA gain telecommunications infrastructure and a source of revenue as part of their license agreements with Adesta. No tax dollars or toll revenues will be used to finance either project. Terms of the agreement between Touch America and Adesta weren't released for proprietary reasons. |
