TR... BANG!!! (You are dead!)
We should all be concerned about US West's choice of NetSpeed for their new MegaBit services rather than PairGain.
Jay... Are you there?
Thursday January 29, 12:24 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: U S WEST Communications
U S WEST Brings Lightning-Fast Internet Access to Homes
in 40 Cities by June 1998
Nation's 1st Regionwide Deployment of High-Power ADSL Internet and
Data Service
Upgraded ADSL Offers Easy Installation & Speeds up to 7 Mbps to Centers
Serving 5.5 Million Customer Lines; NetSpeed(TM) Modem Turns Phone
Lines into High-Speed Data Pipes, Meeting All Goals of UAWG
DENVER, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- U S WEST Communications(R) today unveiled plans to take the
headaches and wait out of getting on-line, with an ultra- fast new Internet and data service for
residential and business customers in more than 40 cities across its 14 states in the first half 1998. U S
WEST's new ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) offers multi-megabit speeds up to 250
times faster than standard modems, and a continuous ''always-on'' digital connection to the Internet
over customer home or office phone lines.
''This is a breakthrough new service. At last, the benefits of the information age are coming home,''
said Solomon D. Trujillo, president and CEO of U S WEST Communications. ''Customers across
our region will now be able to get the power and convenience of super-fast Internet and data access --
in their homes or at the office. No more 'World Wide Wait.' Now, people will have the speed and
simplicity to make the Internet a vital and useful part of their lives -- all at affordable prices and over
their existing phone lines,'' Trujillo said in an address to the New York Financial Writers Association.
First deployed in Phoenix Oct. 28, U S WEST plans by June 1998 to expand MegaBit Services
ADSL and U S WEST.net Internet access to 226 wire centers, serving 5.5 million customer lines in
these cities:
Arizona Colorado Idaho Iowa Minnesota
Phoenix Boulder Boise Ames Minneapolis/
Tucson Colorado Springs Northern Idaho Cedar Rapids St. Paul
Denver Council Bluffs Rochester
Fort Collins Des Moines
Greeley
Montana Nebraska New Mexico North Dakota Oregon
Helena Omaha Albuquerque Fargo Eugene
Las Cruces Portland-area
Santa Fe Salem
Whiterock
South Dakota Utah Washington Wyoming
Sioux Falls Davis County Olympia Cheyenne
Holladay Seattle-area
Kearns Tacoma
Murray
Orem
Provo
Salt Lake City
Deployment is planned in these and several other markets over the first half of 1998. Availability, scale
and timing in each state will depend on local market conditions and regulatory environments.
MegaBit Services ADSL Roll-Out
To date, U S WEST's MegaBit Services in Phoenix is still the nation's only broadly available DSL
service. With its 14-state rollout, U S WEST is making high-speed ADSL available for the first time to
residential and business customers in an entire region, offering the benefit of dramatically improved
performance that eliminates the delays and waiting associated with most current on-line services.
The new ADSL and modem technology U S WEST MegaBit Services is deploying meets
industry-wide goals for speed and ease-of-deployment being developed and proposed by the recently
announced Universal ADSL Working Group (UAWG), made up of leading companies in the personal
computer, networking and telecommunications industries, including U S WEST and NetSpeed.
MegaBit Services will also meet all final industry standards that are reached from UAWG's proposals
(www.uawg.org).
MegaBit Services ADSL lets customers maintain a continuous ''always-on'' digital connection to the
Internet or other data networks over a dedicated portion of their existing phone line -- with no dial-up
required. Customers simply open their Internet browser software, and can make or receive phone calls
over the same line simultaneously while surfing the Internet. Because the service gives customers their
own private digital connection -- off the standard voice network -- subscribers get increased security
and reliability, eliminating traffic jams that come from having to share copper or fiber-optic cable lines
with other on-line users.
''This is a renaissance of the copper phone network,'' said Joe Zell, president, U S WEST
!NTERPRISE Networking. ''MegaBit Services gives U S WEST customers the ability to finally get
maximum value out of the Internet, and it enables businesses to establish office-quality work-at-home
connections.'' In its regionwide deployment, U S WEST MegaBit Services is incorporating several
key upgrades, including NetSpeed's advanced SpeedRunner modem to give customers ADSL access
at much faster speeds -- up to 7 megabits per second, or nearly 250 times faster than traditional 28.8
kbps modems.
''NetSpeed is proud to work with U S WEST and participate in the nation's largest ADSL
deployment,'' said John McHale, CEO of NetSpeed, Inc. ''This deployment will dramatically improve
communications for business and residential customers throughout U S WEST's 14-state region.''
Along with higher speeds, NetSpeed's new ''splitterless'' technology gives MegaBit customers easy
''plug and play'' installation -- no technician visit is required. It will ultimately give customers the
flexibility to connect to their corporate network by day and the Internet through an Internet service
provider by night. Customers will even be able to link one computer to the Internet and another to a
corporate network.
To meet capacity needs for the anticipated high level of customer demand, U S WEST has installed
NetSpeed's LoopRunner technology in its central offices, and is utilizing switching equipment from
Cisco Systems to carry the data traffic over U S WEST's high-speed data network.
To provide an Internet platform for a variety of customers, U S WEST is also offering its fast, reliable
U S WEST.net, which has an array of Internet features and dial-up speeds of up to 56 kbps. Used in
tandem with MegaBit Services, no dial-up is needed and full ADSL performance is available.
Wide Range of MegaBit Options
MegaBit Services will offer several upgraded and higher-speed ADSL options in 1998 to meet the
Internet and data network needs of all residential and business customers -- at affordable flat-rate
prices:
MegaHome -- Only about $40 a month plus installation, U S WEST MegaHome gives
occasional Internet or work-at-home users 256 kbps access, 9-18 times faster than traditional
modems.
MegaOffice -- Telecommuters and smaller businesses with greater bandwidth needs can select U
S WEST MegaOffice, which provides 512 kbps access for about $65 a month plus installation.
MegaBusiness -- Heavier-use business customers and serious cyber- surfers needing more
bandwidth and video capability can get U S WEST MegaBusiness. With 768 kbps at about $80
a month plus installation, customers can work from home at speeds once available only at the
office.
MegaBit -- A new offering for 1998, intensive business users and Internet customers will be able
to get three U S WEST MegaBit high-speed options: 1 Mbps bi-directional access; 4 Mbps
downstream/1 Mbps upstream access; and 7 Mbps downstream/1 Mbps upstream access.
MegaPak -- Customers can also get high-speed ADSL with unlimited Internet service in U S
WEST's MegaPak, which combines MegaHome and U S WEST.net at $59.95 a month with
discounted installation. Other MegaBit users can add U S WEST.net for $19.95 a month.
Pricing on different MegaBit Services may vary slightly from state to state, depending on tariffs.
Speeds may also vary depending on a customer's distance from a central office and loop condition.
To hook up customers, MegaBit Services will provide a NetSpeed SpeedRunner modem that simply
plugs into a customer's existing phone jack and connects to their computer. Because no special wiring
is required, customers can work in any room with a standard phone jack. They can also get a
''one-bill'' option, with all their MegaBit Services, Internet and local phone charges on a single
monthly statement.
Businesses and Internet service providers (ISPs) that want an end-to-end package of ADSL
connections for their customers or employees can install U S WEST's MegaCentral at their host site.
MegaCentral gives businesses the ability to keep employees continuously connected to their own
private high- speed Intranets, and lets ISPs keep customers continuously linked to the Internet.
U S WEST.net Internet Service
Available with MegaBit or as a stand-alone, U S WEST.net is engineered with an extremely high ratio
of dataports to customers lines, so subscribers won't have to deal with busy signals or slow
connections. U S WEST.net Internet platforms are built to withstand occasional equipment and
backbone failures that may take other Internet providers off-line, and are monitored 24-hours,
seven-days-a-week.
Currently deployed in Phoenix, Tucson and Denver, U S WEST.net will also be rolled out in the more
than 40 cities that receive MegaBit service in the first half of 1998.
For $19.95 a month, customers receive unlimited Internet access, newsgroup access, two e-mail
boxes, two megabytes of personal Web-page storage and 24-hour technical support. U S WEST.net's
homepage will also link directly to a U S WEST custom version of Snap!Online from CNET: The
Computer Network, offering localized business, restaurant and other useful Web information. To
make getting on-line hassle-free, U S WEST.net provides easy installation instructions and customized
Netscape Communicator 4.0 software. Microsoft's Internet Explorer is also available to those who
request it. Customers get an easy-to-understand Internet guide explaining how to send e-mail and
search the World Wide Web, and a ''one-bill'' option is also available with U S WEST.net to combine
Internet and local phone charges.
NetSpeed is a leader in end-to-end broadband access product solutions for service providers,
corporations and consumers. NetSpeed's QuickDial(TM) technology and products are designed to
provide bandwidth on demand, allow deployment of pervasive low-cost xDSL services, and enable
high-speed Internet and Intranet access, videoconferencing, telecommuting and video on demand. For
further information, visit NetSpeed's World Wide Web site at netspeed.com or call
800-550-ADSL or 512-249-8055. NetSpeed, SpeedRunner, LoopRunner and QuickDial are
trademarks of NetSpeed, Inc. U S WEST Communications provides telecommunications services --
including wireline, wireless PCS and data networking -- to more than 25 million customers in 14
western and midwestern states. The company is one of two major groups that make up U S WEST, a
company in the connections business, helping customers share information, entertainment and
communications services in local markets worldwide. U S WEST's other major group, MediaOne
Group, is involved in domestic and international cable and telephone, wireless communications, and
directory and information services. U S WEST has proposed splitting the two groups into separate
public companies sometime after mid- 1998, pending shareowner and other approvals.
U S WEST !NTERPRISE is the data networking arm of U S WEST Communications. U S WEST
Communications, Inc. can be found on the Internet at uswest.com.
SOURCE: U S WEST Communications |
