QWEST-NEWS*****BW1045 FEB 10,1998 4:29 PACIFIC 07:29 EASTERN
( BW)(QWEST)(QWST) Qwest's Internet Protocol Phone
Service, Q.talk, Now Available in Nine Cities at 7.5 Cents a
Minute; First State-of-the-Art Native IP Network to Deliver
Telephony Service
ÿÿÿÿBusiness Editors & Telecommunications/Multimedia Writers
ÿÿÿÿDENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 1998--Qwest, a
multimedia communications company building the world's most
advanced fiber optic network, today began commercial service for its
phone-to-phone IP telephony service, Q.talk(SM), with customers using
the service in all nine introductory cities.
ÿÿÿÿLeveraging its high bandwidth, technologically advanced Macro
Capacity(SM) fiber network, Qwest is the first company to deliver to
customers a high quality phone-to-phone service at 7.5-cents per
minute, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because of its enormous
network bandwidth, Qwest is the only company offering uncompressed
service, which allows the sound quality and reliability of each call to
equal that of traditional phone service. Q.talk service began today in the
following nine cities: Anaheim, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San
Francisco and San Jose, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver,
Colorado; and Kansas City, Missouri.
ÿÿÿÿ"The advancement of Internet telephony is today being realized on
the Qwest Macro Capacity fiber network," said Joseph P. Nacchio,
president and CEO of Qwest. "We welcome our new customers and
hope they enjoy the savings of Q.talk with all of their family and
friends."
7.5-Cents a Minute - IP Voice Service, Q.talk
ÿÿÿÿQwest's domestic, long distance IP service, Q.talk, is now being
offered to consumers, through a controlled introduction, at 7.5-cents
per minute for state-to-state calls with no monthly fees, no hourly or
daily restrictions, and no requirements for credit cards or pre-paid
calling cards. Q.talk is available now in nine cities and will expand its
service offering to approximately 25 cities by mid-1998, and will
further expand the service in conjunction with the planned network
buildout.
User-Friendly
ÿÿÿÿTo place a long distance phone call using Q.talk, a customer will
make a local call to access the Qwest IP network, then enter his/her own
password and then dial the destination number.
High Quality, Uncompressed Voice
ÿÿÿÿA traditional phone call contains the bandwidth of 64 kbps. Most
IP telephony services compress the voice to 13 kpbs in order to fit all
the calls onto their networks, and this typically reduces the voice quality
of the call. Due to the state-of-the-art architecture and high bandwidth
of the Qwest network, the Q.talk phone-to-phone IP telephony service
does not compress the user's voice. From the phone call's origination
point to its destination point, the call will remain at 64 kbps.
The Qwest Macro Capacity(SM) Network
ÿÿÿÿQwest's planned domestic 16,000 mile network will serve over 125
cities, which represent approximately 80 percent of the data and voice
traffic originating in the United States, upon its scheduled completion in
the second quarter of 1999. Currently, more than 3,600 miles are
activated from Los Angeles to Columbus, Ohio; and from Dallas to
Houston. Qwest is also extending its network 1,400 miles into Mexico
with completion slated for late third quarter 1998.
ÿÿÿÿThe Qwest Macro Capacity Fiber network is designed with a
highly reliable and secure bi-directional, line switching OC-192
SONET ring architecture. Upon completion, the network will offer a
self-healing system that provides the ultimate security and reliability by
allowing instantaneous rerouting in the event of a fiber cut.
About Qwest
ÿÿÿÿQwest Communications International Inc. (NASDAQ:QWST) is a
multimedia communications company building a high-capacity, fiber
optic network for the 21st century. With its cutting-edge technology,
Qwest will deliver high-quality data, video and voice connectivity
securely and reliably to businesses, consumers and other
communications service providers. Further information is available at
www.qwest.net.
ÿÿÿÿThis release may contain forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from
actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the documents
filed by Qwest with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports on
Form 10-Q, which identify important risk factors that could cause
actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking
statements, including potential fluctuations in quarterly results,
dependence on new product development, rapid technological and
market change, failure to complete the network on schedule, volatility
of stock price, financial risk management and future growth subject to
risks.
ÿÿÿÿNote to Editors: The Qwest logo is a registered trademark of
Qwest Communications International Inc. in the U.S. and certain other
countries.
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