OT QWest
BW1073 APR 27,1998 4:33 PACIFIC 07:33 EASTERN
( BW)(QWEST)(QWST) Qwest Signs $430 Million Contract With U.S. Government;
U.S. Government Becomes Major Custom Virtual Private Network Customer
Business Editors
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 1998--Qwest today announced a prime contract with the U.S.
government worth up to $430 million over 10 years.
Under the terms of the agreement, Qwest will provide the government with the fiber, hardware, engineering,
communications services and network management that make up a custom Virtual Private Network (VPN)
service. Part of the Q.VPN family of services, this network is one of the first custom VPN offering in Qwest's
suite of data service offerings. Leveraging the Qwest Macro Capacity(SM) Fiber Network and its TeraPOP
(Terabit Points of Presence) network design, this custom network provides the customer with the privacy,
service features and price performance uniquely designed to meet their application requirements.
Qwest's state-of-the-art native IP nationwide network continues to deliver the most advanced Internet services
to the market today. Qwest's suite of IP services includes Remote Access VPN, high speed Internet access, web
hosting and web content services. Qwest also offers to consumers and small businesses Q.talk -- the nation's
first commercially deployed phone-to-phone Internet telephony service.
"The federal government is an enormous business opportunity with significant critical networking and
communications requirements, and Qwest is pleased to make a bold entrance into this market by providing a
custom VPN to the nation's largest employer," said Joseph P. Nacchio, president and CEO of Qwest. "Not only
is Qwest setting the standard for delivering the next generation data network infrastructure for businesses, but
Qwest's involvement in Internet2 and other research and academic backbones, such as CALRen2, mark an
aggressive move to develop secure private networks that will advance these institutions in the information age."
"Today's announcement marks the first large government contract secured by Qwest's newly created
Government Systems Division," said Dean Wandry, senior vice president of New Business Development at
Qwest. "This agreement underscores Qwest's unique ability to deliver high quality, secure and reliable multimedia
and data services that the government and federal agencies depend on to conduct immense, essential
governmental tasks."
The Qwest Macro Capacity Fiber Network
Qwest's planned domestic 16,285 mile network will serve more than 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 5,400 miles are activated from California to New York, from Dallas
to Houston and from Phoenix to Austin, Texas. Qwest is also extending its network 1,400 miles into Mexico
with completion slated for late third quarter 1998.
The 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
Qwest Communications International Inc. (NASDAQ:QWST) is a multimedia communications company
building a high-capacity, native IP 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.
This 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 filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 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, failure to consummate the
proposed merger with LCI International timely or at all, volatility of stock price, financial risk management and
future growth subject to risks.
The Qwest logo is a registered trademark of Qwest Communications International Inc. in the U.S. and certain
other countries. |
