e.spire to use NN switches:
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January 06, 1999 08:46
e.spire Announces Plans to Expand Dial-Up Internet Service in 25 Markets and Will Offer High-Speed Dedicated "DSL" Access in New York City, Atlanta and Florida
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Integrated Service Provider Leverages Advanced Network and Data Assets
to Offer Expanded Dial-Up and New Dedicated Internet Services
to Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses, "SOHOs," and Residential Customers
ANNAPOLIS JUNCTION, Md., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- e.spire Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESPI) today announced a significant expansion of its Internet capabilities by announcing plans to launch dial-up Internet service in 25 cities and unveiling plans to offer high-speed Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service in some of the nation's largest markets, including New York City, Atlanta and Florida. e.spire will target the small- to medium-sized business market, including small office/home office customers (SOHOs), and for the first time will offer dial-up Internet service to residential customers in multiple markets across the nation by the end of the Company's first quarter.
e.spire's new Internet initiatives vault the company into the ranks of major national Internet Service Providers (ISPs), with the ability to provide full-fledged dial-up service in key U.S. markets, and ultimately to meet burgeoning demand for high-speed DSL in some of the nation's largest and fastest-growing cities. e.spire's aggressive plans for Internet expansion are made possible by the company's extensive infrastructure and data assets -- including a nationwide high-speed ATM backbone network, advanced local fiber optic networks and digital switching capabilities in each of the 25 new Internet markets, and hands-on experience in serving dial-up customers through its wholly-owned subsidiary, CyberGate, Florida's largest ISP.
"e.spire is emerging as one of the industry's data leaders in 1999, with the ability to offer customers the full range of dial-up and dedicated Internet capabilities, powered by our own robust data network and service infrastructure," said Anthony J. Pompliano, e.spire Chairman and CEO. "Because e.spire owns our network facilities, we have the ability to provide increasingly higher levels of service, quality and speed of access. In the race to capture the phenomenal growth of the Internet market, these assets provide a great competitive edge -- for our customers and for e.spire."
e.spire is "powering up" its dial-up Internet service launch by taking advantage of extensive local fiber optic networks, equipped with Lucent 5ES- 2000 digital switches, Newbridge MainStreet Xpress ATM switches and Cisco Internet routers, in each of the 25 new markets. The combined infrastructure enables the company to offer service in each city, to take the major step of serving SOHO and residential customers, and at the same time to achieve significant economies and enhanced margins.
"We are ready today, after the successful integration of CyberGate's Internet business and the acquisition of customers from ISPs such as ICANECT and Netrunner, to move ahead as a competitive nationwide ISP player," said Vernon Irvin, e.spire Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy. "We plan to offer our prospective customers -- including small- to medium-sized companies, SOHOs, and individual consumers, whether in office buildings or residences -- both dedicated and dial-up Internet service. Our sales reps will help assess customers' business and personal needs and match the individual communications requirements with the best and most cost- effective Internet service packages available."
e.spire's planned DSL offering will offer customers dedicated Internet access, opening a new universe of service capabilities to small- and medium- sized businesses. With e.spire's DSL service, these customers will be able to execute high-bandwidth Internet applications such as videoconferencing, extranets, and remote access, once only available to larger companies.
Today's initiatives reflect plans to expand e.spire's data capabilities, extending the company's suite of dial-up Internet services to small- to medium-sized businesses over a broad section of the U.S., and adding an important new market -- SOHOs and consumers. e.spire began providing dial-up Internet access to small- and medium-sized business customers in early 1997 through the acquisition of CyberGate.
e.spire dial-up Internet service will be available in the following markets: Albuquerque, NM; Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Birmingham, AL; Colorado Springs, CO; Columbia, SC; Columbus, GA; Dallas, TX; El Paso, TX; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Fort Worth, TX; Greenville, SC; Jacksonville, FL; Kansas City, KS/MO; Little Rock, AR; Louisville, KY; Mobile, AL; Montgomery, AL; New Orleans, LA; San Antonio, TX; Tampa, FL; Tucson, AZ; Tulsa, OK; and Washington, D.C.
In early 1998, e.spire introduced e.spire PLATINUM, one of the industry's first integrated products, offering bundled Internet access, local and long distance voice, Frame Relay and ATM. Later in the year, e.spire became a Tier 1 Internet company by expanding its Internet backbone and signing key private and public peering agreements.
e.spire Communications, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated communications solutions, including dedicated access, local dial tone, long distance, advanced data, Internet and networking solutions, in markets throughout the southern United States. For more information on e.spire, contact www.espire.net on the Internet.
Certain statements regarding the development of the Company's businesses, the markets for the Company's services and products, the Company's anticipated capital expenditures, anticipated EBITDA and other statements contained herein regarding matters that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Although the company believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. The important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements herein (the "Cautionary Statements") include, without limitation, the Company's degree of financial leverage, risks associated with debt service requirements and interest rate fluctuations, risks associated with acquisitions and the integration thereof, the impact of restriction under the Company's financial instruments, dependence on availability of transmission facilities, regulation risks including the impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, contingent liabilities, the impact of competitive services and pricing, the ability of the Company to successfully implement its strategies, as well as the other risks referenced from time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC, including the Company's Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 1997. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the Cautionary Statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
SOURCE e.spire Communications, Inc.
/CONTACT: Peggy Disney, Director, Corporate Communications of e.spire
Communications, 301-361-4259 or peggy.disney@espire.net; or Jim Crawford of
Crawford Public Relations, 703-715-0844 or crawfordpr@aol.com, for e.spire/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 111731/
/Web site: espire.net
(ESPI)
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