To All!
Tuesday August 11, 7:15 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Qwest Chosen By Nortel To Provide
Domestic Communications Services
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1998--Qwest today
announced a multimillion-dollar contract to provide communications services to Nortel (Northern
Telecom), a leading provider of communications products and advanced digital networks. Under the
terms of the three-year agreement, Qwest will provide Nortel with Virtual Network Services (VNS) in
the U.S., toll-free calling, calling card, and inbound and outbound long-distance services. Using
advanced re-routing technology, Qwest will continuously monitor Nortel's VNS traffic across the
Qwest Macro Capacity(SM) Fiber Network for quality assurance and uninterrupted transmission.
''Qwest and Nortel have been working together on many fronts to bring high-tech communications
services to businesses and consumers, and Qwest is pleased to provide Nortel with the services that
have, in part, been created through its strategic alliance with Nortel,'' said Lew Wilks, president of
business markets for Qwest.
''Qwest continues to emerge as an exciting new provider of advanced communications services. The
tremendous capabilities of Qwest's nationwide high-capacity fiber optic network are maximized by
Nortel's leading-edge optical and switching solutions,'' said Ian Craig, president of broadband networks
for Nortel.
The Qwest Macro Capacity Fiber Network
Qwest's planned domestic 18,449-mile network will serve over 130 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. To date, approximately 8,850 miles of the Qwest
Macro Capacity Fiber Network are activated, including the transcontinental segment that extends from
Los Angeles to Sacramento and across to New York. Additionally, Qwest owns transatlantic
submarine capacity linking the United States to Europe and will jointly own a transpacific submarine
cable system connecting the U.S. to the Pacific Rim. Qwest is also extending its network 1,400 miles
into Mexico with completion slated for late 1998.
The Qwest Macro Capacity Fiber network is designed with a highly reliable and secure bi-directional,
line switching ring architecture powered by Nortel's (Northern Telecom's) S/DMS TransportNode
OC-192 with Dense-Wavelength Division Multiplexing (D-WDM) supporting up to 160 Gbps of data,
voice and video traffic on a single fiber. 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 Nortel
Nortel works with customers in more than 150 countries and territories to design, build and integrate
their communications products and advanced digital networks. Customers include public and private
institutions; Internet service providers; local, long-distance, cellular mobile and PCS communications
companies; cable television companies; and utilities. Nortel's common shares are listed on the New
York, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and London stock exchanges. Nortel had 1997 revenues of
US$15.5 billion and has approximately 73,000 employees worldwide.
About Qwest
Qwest Communications International Inc. (NASDAQ: QWST - news) is a multimedia communications
company and one of the fastest growing companies in America today. Headquartered in Denver,
Colorado, Qwest has approximately 6,000 employees and over 80 sales offices worldwide. With its
world-class data and multimedia network, marketing expertise, and customer care and billing systems,
Qwest is delivering high-quality data, video and voice connectivity securely and reliably to customers
around the world. 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 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.
The Qwest logo is a registered trademark of Qwest Communications International Inc. in the U.S. and
certain other countries.
Contact:
Corporate Contact: Investor Contact:
Qwest Communications Qwest Communications
Diane Reberger Lee Wolfe
(303) 992-1662 (800) 567-7296
dreberge@qwest.net lwolfe@qwest.net
qwest.net qwest.net
or
Media Contact:
Alexander Communications
Alison Schwartz
(303) 615-5070 x128
aschwart@alexandercom.com
alexander-pr.com
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