To: Gary Korn who wrote (27332 ) 12/10/1997 10:13:00 AM From: Glenn D. Rudolph Respond to
BTI Begins Build-Out of High-Bandwidth, Long-Haul East Coast Fiber Optic Network
PR Newswire - December 10, 1997 10:09
%CPR %TLS V%PRN P%PRN
RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresh from raising $250 million in
expansion capital, BTI has begun build-out of a high-bandwidth, long-haul
fiber optic network along the high-traffic East Coast corridor from Miami to
New York City.
The privately held, Raleigh-based company is installing the most advanced
optronics and OC 192 (10-gigabit) capacity on 3500-route miles of dark fiber
it recently purchased, according to BTI president and chief operating officer
Mike Newkirk.
"This is yet another key step in our strategic plan to build a 21st
Century telecommunications network," Mr. Newkirk said. "It will substantially
reduce our operating costs, and strengthen our position in the Southeast as
the low-cost provider of telecommunications services to business customers.
"It gives us additional capacity to aggressively grow all of our core
businesses, including long distance, data network management and high-speed
data transmission, and local telephone service, as well as our wholesale
business to other carriers."
Mr. Newkirk also announced that the company has begun construction on a
15 route mile addition to its 65-mile fiber optic network in North Carolina's
Research Triangle, linking Raleigh, Cary, Durham and the Research Triangle
Park. The new section is set to go on-line by year-end.
The BTI network features 100 percent zero non-dispersion in a self-healing
SONET ring architecture.
BTI kicked off build-out of its expanded network with a dark-fiber
purchase agreement with Qwest International Corporations of Denver. The
agreement covers the route from New York City to Miami and another route from
Atlanta to Nashville, Mr. Newkirk said.
BTI plans other fiber builds along strategic routes in the Southeast and
is also negotiating with several other fiber optic network providers to buy
additional dark fiber, Mr. Newkirk said.
The upgraded network and additional capacity are critical elements in
BTI's strategic plan to compete in the local telephone market in North
Carolina and other Southeastern U.S. markets, Mr. Newkirk said.
As part of that strategy, BTI is installing five 5-ESS digital switching
systems from Lucent Technologies on its network. The first switch goes
on-line in Raleigh in December 1997, followed by Charlotte and Greensboro by
Second Quarter 1998. The other two switches will be deployed later in 1998 at
sites to be selected.
The network expansions are the latest chapter in BTI's rapid growth.
Since completing a $250 million bond offering in September, BTI has moved
quickly to strengthen its position as a leading provider of retail and
wholesale telecommunications services in the Carolinas and the Southeastern
United States.
About BTI
Founded in 1983 by North Carolina telecom entrepreneur Peter T. Loftin,
BTI has emerged as one of the fastest-growing telecommunications companies in
the U.S., with a compound annual growth rate of 35 percent since 1993. The
company is deploying a high-capacity fiber optic network along the East Coast
corridor from New York City to Miami and from Atlanta to Nashville.
BTI offers a full array of telecommunications services to businesses,
residences and other communications providers, including long distance, local
service, high-speed data transmission, paging and Internet access.
SOURCE BTI
/CONTACT: Anthony M. Copeland, Vice President of BTI, 919-510-7009/
