Frontier Deploys Fastest ATM Network in Industry
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 1998--Frontier Communications continues to set the pace of
innovation in the communications industry by deploying the fastest Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
network available today.
Using switches purchased from Ascend Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASND - news), Frontier is
transmitting its ATM traffic at 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) directly over Dense Wavelength Division
Multiplexing (DWDM) equipment. That's 16 times faster than the typical ATM technology currently in use.
''This isn't something we're promising to do in the future -- we're doing it now. The ATM layer of the Frontier
Optronics Network(SM) is already lit and carrying traffic at incredible speeds,'' said Michael Coghill, Frontier's
vice president of network operations. ''Let me try to put the impact of this announcement into perspective with
an analogy. If you think of traditional networks moving at 65 miles per hour, Frontier's ATM highway raises the
speed limit to 3,000 miles per hour. Thanks to Frontier, network congestion may well become a thing of the
past.''
''Ascend is pleased to partner with such an innovative service provider as Frontier,'' said Thomas DeCanio,
vice president of Ascend's product marketing core switching division. ''By connecting Ascend GX 550 ATM
switches directly to DWDM at OC-48/STM-16 speeds, thereby eliminating an entire layer of traditional
transmission equipment, Frontier is deploying the most efficient network architecture possible at the fastest
ATM speeds available.''
The Frontier Optronics Network already moves data at OC-48 rates (2.5 Gbps) over its coast-to-coast Internet
Protocol (IP) network layer. Frontier has also created a ''network express lane,'' deploying Hyper-Dense
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (HDWDM) equipment in its top 20 markets. HDWDM can move traffic at
speeds of 1.28 terabits (trillions) of data per second on a single fiber strand. This ability to transmit trillions of
bits of data, instead of the billions carried by conventional optical technology, makes the Frontier Optronics
Network the fastest in the world.
About Frontier Communications
Frontier Communications, a unit of Frontier Corporation (NYSE:FRO - news), is one of the leading providers of
integrated communications solutions -- including Internet, IP and data applications, long distance, local
telephone and wireless -- to business customers nationwide. The self-healing Frontier Optronics Network(SM)
provides customers with faster transmission speeds, greater bandwidth capacity and unrivaled reliability. For
more information, visit the Frontier web site at www.frontiercorp.com.
You can receive a faxed copy of any Frontier Corporation press release dating back to November 1997, free
of charge, 24 hours a day by calling 1-800-448-8533. An automated system will provide you with instructions.
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