A few press releases....Lucent Announces Fiber Contracts with Columbia Transcom, FEC Telecom and Metromedia Fiber Network
Agreements Valued at up to $300 Million
September 28, 1999 07:30 AM Eastern Time
MURRAY HILL, N.J., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucent Technologies LU today said it has been awarded optical fiber contracts with Columbia Transcom, FEC Telecom, Inc. and Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. The contracts have a combined value up to $300 million and include the deployment of Lucent's industry leading AllWave and TrueWave fiber.
The following announcements were made today:
* Columbia Transcom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Energy Group
CG , today said it has selected Lucent's TrueWave RS Fiber for
its telecommunications network under construction between Washington,
D.C. and New York City. Columbia Transcom plans to provide dark fiber
capacity to carriers ISPs, corporate and governmental customers by
providing high-capacity optical pipelines.
* FEC Telecom, Inc., Florida East Coast Industries' telecom subsidiary,
announced today it had signed a contract to purchase Lucent's TrueWave
RS optical fiber to carry broadband traffic through key Florida cities
-- including Miami, Ft. Myers, Tampa and Orlando. FEC Telecom is using
Florida East Coast Railway right-of-way to ultimately build a 780-mile
"telecommunications loop" reaching 13 of Florida's 15 largest population
centers.
* Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. MFNX today announced its plans
to deploy Lucent's AllWave Fiber for its intra-city fiber network routes
in both the U.S. and Europe. The agreement marks the first installation
of AllWave Fiber for Metromedia Fiber Network, adding innovative new
capabilities to MFN's metropolitan networks. The contract is part of
Metromedia Fiber Network's strategy to expand its fiber network to
additional markets in North America and Europe to meet the growing
bandwidth needs of telecommunication service providers, Internet Service
Providers, governments and businesses.
* In addition, Lucent unveiled the industry's first end-to-end fiber optic
solution designed specifically for metropolitan and cable communications
networks. Lucent's AllWave ADVANTAGE(TM) Optical Connectivity Solution
is a premier fiber optic end-to-end solution developed to optimize
network performance in metropolitan and cable communications networks.
The complete solution includes Lucent's revolutionary AllWave fiber,
AllWave optical cable and the new AllWave optical connectivity products.
AllWave ADVANTAGE is targeted for availability in October 1999.
"These agreements demonstrate the success we are experiencing in our fiber business with new emerging carriers," said Bill Spivey, president of Lucent's Network Products Group. "Lucent is capturing the lion's share of the new, high-growth application fiber market with our TrueWave and AllWave Fiber offerings."
TrueWave RS Fiber is a next-generation fiber technology that provides greater capacity and bandwidth, while maintaining high-quality transmission of data and other communications. AllWave Fiber, the industry's first fiber designed specifically for metropolitan applications, provides 60 percent more usable wavelengths than today's conventional single-mode fiber. By using a break-through ultra-purifying process from its Bell Laboratories, Lucent has been able to virtually eliminate water molecules in the glass fiber that had made some light regions in the fiber spectrum previously unusable.
Lucent said its new WaveStar AllSpectra system, announced last week, also is being designed to use the full spectrum of wavelengths that only AllWave Fiber allows. WaveStar AllSpectra OLS will use a technique known as Wide-Spectrum WDM, which spaces wavelengths much farther apart within a fiber than today's DWDM systems.
To date, Lucent has produced more than 6 billion meters of its TrueWave Fiber -- enough fiber to wrap around the world 150 times. Lucent said it is experiencing double-digit growth in its optical fiber business, with expansion plans underway to its facilities in Atlanta, Denmark and China.
Lucent Technologies designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. More information about Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., is available on its Web site at lucent.com.
WIN Switching Awards Lucent Technologies $50 Million Contract To Build Converged Voice and Data Network in Pacific Northwest
September 28, 1999 07:29 AM Eastern Time
MURRAY HILL, N.J., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- WIN Switching, a consortium of Independent Telephone Companies in the Pacific Northwest, and Lucent Technologies LU announced today that Lucent had been awarded a five-year, $50 million contract to build a converged telecommunications network that will bring advanced data and voice services to customers in rural and semi-rural areas of the Pacific Northwest.
The consortium plans to offer residential and business customers voice and data switching services based on Lucent's broadband access solutions including the PathStar(TM) Access Server, Lucent's flagship 5ESS(R) Switch and the 7 R/E(TM) Packet Solutions portfolio. As the network is built, WIN Switching plans to add data networking capabilities to offer services such as telemedicine, distance learning and high-speed access to the Internet. This will give customers in rural areas quick access to information of particular interest to them, such as commodities prices and weather forecasts.
"We plan to improve, enhance and expand service in rural and semi-rural areas by building a high-quality, high-capacity infrastructure," said Ron Hayhurst, Manager, WIN Switching. "Member companies of WIN Switching have provided reliable, high-quality access through the public voice network for decades. Now, the advanced data-networking technologies offered by Lucent will enable WIN Switching to keep up with changes in customer demand. WIN Switching intends to deploy new technology as demand warrants, and Lucent's flexible migration path from circuit to packet switching provides a cost- effective means of doing so."
WIN Switching will employ Lucent's broadband access solutions as part of a core ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) network and will use Lucent's PathStar(TM) Access Server as a migration path to the 7 R/E solutions. The 7R/E Packet Driver easily evolves the 5ESS Switch to effectively handle voice-data convergence. The 7R/E Packet Driver connects the public switched telephone network with various data networks, such as IP or ATM networks. Service providers with a 5ESS Switch can now quickly and easily offer Internet access, Internet telephony services, or other popular data services, while simplifying network operations and protecting current investments.
"Lucent's solution creates a converged backbone that provides the flexibility to offer voice or data services or both," said Bill Plunkett, senior sales vice president for emerging service providers at Lucent Technologies. "The types of services made available by broadband technology will give people in rural areas new business and learning opportunities. Lucent is delighted to be selected by WIN Switching to be part of the team making that happen."
About WIN Switching
WIN Switching is one of several Limited Liability Companies formed by Western Independent Networks, Inc. ("WIN"). WIN is the business development arm of the small, Independent Telephone Companies in the Pacific Northwest. Other companies associated with WIN are WIN Signaling, which provides SS7 services to member companies and others, and WIN Transport, which is working to improve the fiber optic interconnections in non-urban areas of the Pacific Northwest. WIN also started Washington Oregon Wireless, LLC, the Sprint PCS Network Member managing local Sprint PCS service in areas of those states. WOW is building a $60 Million Sprint PCS network in Oregon and Washington, using Lucent switching equipment and base stations.
About Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. More information about Lucent Technologies is available on the company's web site at www.lucent.com.
SOURCE Lucent Technologies
Metromedia Fiber Network Becomes First to Deploy AllWave(TM) Fiber For Intracity Networks in the U.S. and Europe
September 28, 1999 07:29 AM Eastern Time
NEW YORK, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. MFNX today announced its plans to deploy Lucent Technologies' LU AllWave Fiber for its intra-city fiber network routes in both the U.S. and Europe.
The $40 million agreement, part of a larger contract signed earlier in the year, marks the first installation of AllWave Fiber for Metromedia Fiber Network, adding innovative new capabilities to MFN's metropolitan networks.
AllWave Fiber, the industry's first fiber designed specifically for metropolitan applications, provides 60 percent more usable wavelengths than today's conventional single-mode fiber. By using a break-through ultra-purifying process from its Bell Laboratories, Lucent has been able to virtually eliminate water molecules in the glass fiber that had made some light regions in the fiber spectrum previously unusable.
"Metromedia Fiber Network is future-proofing its metropolitan network routes to meet the increased bandwidth demands of our customers by installing high-capacity optical pipelines directly to buildings and carrier points of presence on an unmetered, fixed cost basis," said Howard Finkelstein, president of Metromedia Fiber Network. "Lucent's AllWave Fiber helps us take the next step in our strategy to provide our customers with the most advanced networks available to meet their intensive broadband requirements."
The contract with Lucent is part of Metromedia Fiber Network's strategy to expand its fiber network to additional markets in North America and Europe to meet the growing bandwidth needs of telecommunication service providers, Internet Service Providers, governments and businesses. The network, currently planned for more than 1 million fiber miles in North America and Europe, will cover more than a dozen cities.
"AllWave Fiber opens a new window in the fiber spectrum to provide Metromedia Fiber Network with more wavelengths and additional bandwidth in its metropolitan routes," said Denys Gounot, chief operating officer for Lucent's cable systems business. "Together, we are stretching the limits of fiber capacity to unheard-of levels in the local network to provide MFN's customers with the ability to cost-effectively deliver new, high-speed service and data capabilities to end customers."
Earlier this year, the two companies announced a $100 million contract to install Lucent's industry-leading TrueWave(R) RS Fiber throughout MFN's networks in the U.S. and Europe. The network construction in Europe served as Lucent's first installation of fiber ribbon technology on the continent, making, Metromedia Fiber Network the first provider to be able to place up to 864 TrueWave fibers in a one-inch cable metallic sheath -- dramatically reducing the installed cost, per fiber mile, of conventional fiber networks. This allows Metromedia Fiber Network to deliver virtually unlimited bandwidth at a fixed cost to its customer base.
Lucent Technologies designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. More information about Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, NJ, is available on its Web site at lucent.com.
Metromedia Fiber Network is building metropolitan fiber optic infrastructure in the local loop in strategic Tier One markets, enabling technologically sophisticated organizations to implement the latest data, video, Internet and multimedia applications. By offering virtually unlimited, unmetered bandwidth at a fixed cost, Metromedia Fiber Network is eliminating the barrier and redefining the way broadband capacity is sold. In addition to its current nationwide expansion in 12 major US and Canadian cities, Metromedia Fiber Network is entering the international market with fiber optic network builds in Germany, the UK and Holland.
Metromedia Fiber Network recently acquired AboveNet Communications, the architect of the global one-hop network and the leading provider of Internet connectivity and co-location solutions for high-bandwidth and business critical applications. The combined company will facilitate the explosive growth of e-commerce and advanced Internet applications by delivering secure, reliable and scalable optical networks to Internet content and service providers, carriers and enterprise users, worldwide. For more information about Metromedia Fiber Network, please visit the company's Web site at mmfn.com.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause or contribute to such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, and various other factors beyond the Company's control. This also includes such factors as described from time to time in the SEC reports filed by Metromedia Fiber Network, including the most recently filed Form 10-K and 10-Q.
SOURCE Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc.; Lucent Technologies
FEC Telecom Purchases Lucent Technologies' TrueWave(R) RS Fiber For Expanding Florida Network
September 28, 1999 07:29 AM Eastern Time
ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- FEC Telecom, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Florida East Coast Industries, Inc. ("FECI") FLA announced today it will purchase 430 miles of Lucent Technologies' (LU) TrueWave RS high count optical fiber and Lucent's NetCare(R) Services and consulting.
FEC Telecom will utilize Lucent's TrueWave fiber to carry broadband traffic through key Florida cities -- including Miami, Ft. Myers, Tampa and Orlando, according to Benjamin Finzi, Executive Vice President -- Strategy and Business Development.
Based in Orlando, FEC Telecom is creating a 780-mile telecommunications loop reaching 12 of Florida's 15 largest population centers and 73 percent of its total population, Finzi said.
"FEC Telecom is aggressively executing our strategy of becoming the carrier's carrier in Florida," said Finzi. "Our Florida network will offer significant revenue potential as demand for high-capacity fiber and bandwidth continues to grow, keeping pace with the Internet and other business and consumer broadband applications."
Lucent's TrueWave RS (Reduced Slope) Fiber represents the next-generation of fiber optics, giving carriers' carriers like FEC Telecom a solution to handle emerging high-speed DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) systems that are increasingly being integrated into high-capacity networks, according to Dr. Bill Spivey, President of Lucent's Network Products Group in Atlanta.
"This exciting new fiber assures long distance network providers that the infrastructure they install today will not only meet today's transmission needs more efficiently, but will also support tomorrow's applications and bandwidth requirements," Spivey said.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company.
In addition to FEC Telecom, Florida East Coast Industries currently conducts operations through three wholly owned subsidiaries, Gran Central Corporation (GCC), Florida East Coast Railway Company (FECR) and International Transit, Inc. (ITI). GCC develops, leases and manages approximately 5.0 million square feet of office, service and warehouse space, including a number of industrial and commercial parks in Jacksonville, Orlando and Miami, and owns approximately 18,000 acres of real estate primarily along the east coast of Florida. FECR is a regional freight railroad with operations on 351 miles of main line track, from Jacksonville to Miami. ITI provides truckload service, intermodal drayage and transportation logistics and brokerage services throughout the mid-west and southeastern United States.
This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements represent Lucent and FECI's present expectations or beliefs concerning future events. The companies caution that such statements are necessarily based on certain assumptions, which are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in general economic condition, and changing competition and technology that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated herein. Further information on these risk factors is including in the companies filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE FEC Telecom, Inc
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