MCI Bumps Up Bandwidth With New Technology and Doubles Internet
Backbone Core Circuit Capacity
Company Adds New Layer to Internet and Uses New System to Multiply Capacity of Existing Fiber Optic Cable
DALLAS, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- MCI (Nasdaq: MCIC - news) today announced it has doubled the core circuit
capacity of its Internet backbone to dual 622 megabits per second (dual OC12) and added over 4,000 access
ports to accommodate Internet traffic growth that is doubling each year. In addition, MCI introduced new
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology that also doubles the capacity of its fastest network links
without the cost of adding new cables, and allows the equivalent of over 1 million voice calls to be carried over a
single pair of optical fibers.
''With these network upgrades, MCI continues to show its ability to stay ahead of the technology curve, while
offering customers the highest levels of performance and reliability available,'' said John Gerdelman, President
of networkMCI Services.
Last year, MCI boosted its Internet backbone capacity to 622 megabits per second, which is the fastest Internet
speed available to date. In doubling its backbone core circuit capacity, MCI has added another layer of 622
megabit network links, for a total of 1.2 gigabits (1.2 billion bits) per second. Also, MCI plans to add an
additional 6,000 Internet access ports and increase its backbone core circuit capacity even further to 2.5 gigabits
per second by year-end 1998.
According to Gerdelman, the company is one of the world's largest Internet providers, carrying over 580
terabytes (580 trillion bytes) of data on its backbone each month -- the equivalent of 727,000 full-length films.
By 2001, MCI officials predict that over 50 percent of the company's total network capacity will be dedicated to
the Internet.
''MCI's industry leading Internet backbone is the foundation of our Internet business,'' said Stephen Von Rump,
MCI's Vice President of Enterprise Marketing. ''These continuing enhancements to our network support MCI's
ability to provide innovative business and consumer applications, and allows us to deliver next generation
Internet services, such as the Real Broadcast Network, to our customers today.'' MCI's Real Broadcast Network
is a new Internet broadcasting application that provides streaming of audio and video content to large numbers of
users, and is currently used by ABC News, Atlantic Records, ESPN and others.
MCI's pioneering effort in the Internet market has resulted in a $250 million business that is expected to grow to
over a billion dollars a year by 2000. Currently, MCI provides a wide range of commercial Internet services
including dial and dedicated access, Web application hosting, security services, electronic commerce and
managed intranet solutions. Earlier this year, the company introduced its Vault initiative which combines MCI's
switched network with its Internet backbone, permitting a whole new set of what MCI is calling V-class services
-- like directlineMCI and Net Conferencing -- that utilize the capabilities of both networks.
To increase overall capacity on its regular voice and data networks, MCI is using new technology, called
Wavelength Division Multiplexing, that breaks down light signals into multiple wavelengths and transmits them
simultaneously through the same fiber. This technology allows MCI to significantly increase capacity without
the cost of adding new fiber.
Today, MCI became the first telecommunications company to carry live traffic multiplexed into eight
wavelengths to deliver 80 Gbps (gigabits per second), the equivalent of over 1 million voice calls on a single pair
of hair-thin optical fibers, and the maximum currently available.
The commercial route comprises a 170 mile stretch of MCI's network linking Los Angeles and Rialto,
California, and is another major step in MCI's eventual migration to 1,280 Gbps (or 1.28 terabits or trillion bits
per second) of capacity by multiplexing 40 Gbps into 32 wavelengths, each carrying a 40 Gbps stream of voice
or data traffic. This will allow a single pair of optical fibers to carry over 16 million voice calls or the equivalent
in data, Internet and fax transmissions.
''Being able to deliver this magnitude of network capacity clearly demonstrates MCI's ability to meet the future
data, multimedia and voice communications needs of our customers,'' said Fred Briggs, MCI's Chief Engineering
Officer. ''MCI has been the first to market with the highest speed fiber electronics since 1985, and today's
announcement reaffirms our technology leadership.''
According to Briggs, Wavelength Division Multiplexing is deployed in 70 percent of MCI's network, ranging in
multiplexing factors of 2,3,4_and now 8 wavelengths, with 16 and 32 to come.
''MCI uses a passive system, making us up to 30 percent more efficient than many of our competitors,'' said
Briggs. ''Using WDM and other technologies over the past 10 years, we've been able to put 70 times the
capacity on our fiber plant at one-seventh the cost of adding new fiber. There is no shortage of capacity; however,
there is no glut. We add capacity only as we need it using WDM.''
Briggs added that MCI's capability to leverage technologies such as WDM was a factor in the company being
awarded major contracts by Nasdaq and the U.S. Postal Service. ''But, we do more than just offer increases in
bandwidth,'' he said. ''We offer total solutions like intranets and managed services...with our intelligent network
serving as the foundation.''
According to MCI, these network upgrades and the continued use of WDM to increase capacity will result in
faster Internet response times in the future and improvements in everything from teleconferencing to advanced
medical applications.
MCI, headquartered in Washington, D.C., offers the industry's most comprehensive portfolio of communication
services. With 1996 revenues of $18.5 billion, MCI ranks as one of the world's largest telecommunications
companies. MCI is also the world's second largest carrier of international traffic and operates one of the world's
most advanced Internet networks. Since its founding in 1968, MCI has been a leader in bringing the benefits of
long distance competition to businesses and consumers and is now leading the charge to open U.S. local calling
markets to competition. On November 10, 1997, MCI announced a definitive merger agreement with
WorldCom, Inc. to form a new company called MCI WorldCom.
SOURCE: MCI Communications Corp.
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