Blankmind,
I had wondered whether Williams was in fact pushing
vendors for products. I guess the following is proof
(see BOLD). What would be the impact of this on
Q1 or Q2?
WILLIAMS ACCELERATES EXPANSION OF FIBER-OPTIC NETWORK; PLANS $2.7 BILLION
Investment in 32,000-Mile System by 2001
TULSA, Okla., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Barely a month after announcing
its re-entry into the wholesale telecommunications market, Williams
(NYSE: WMB) is accelerating the expansion of its national fiber-optic
network with plans for a $2.7 billion investment in a 32,000-mile
system by year-end 2001.
Williams will have about 20,000 route miles in service by the end of
the first quarter of 1999 -- growing to 32,000 miles over the next four
years.
In addition to significant projects already under way, Williams will
move aggressively to build additional fiber in Florida, connecting to
existing network in the Southeast; will establish a new Midwest route
from Chicago westward, and will complete diverse routes providing
additional connectivity to selected markets.
Williams will have 69 major cities connected to its network in 1998,
growing to 100 cities as the network expansion proceeds in subsequent
years.
The company's board of directors has agreed to spend $800 million on
network construction during 1998. The network is projected to reach
nearly 22,000 miles by year-end 1999 -- doubling its current size. It
will stretch to more than 25,000 miles by year-end 2000 and some 32,000
miles by the end of 2001.
"It is clear that carriers are hungry for bandwidth from a provider
they know excels at focusing on their specific requirements," said
Frank Semple, president of Williams Network. "Williams is the only
provider with a known track record, a functioning national fiber-optic
network and a complete focus on the wholesale network market."
With the Jan. 5 expiration of a non-compete agreement that had kept
Williams out of the wholesale network business for three years, the
company last month announced new transactions with multi-year
commitments totaling some $1 billion.
U S WEST, Intermedia and Concentric signed on as initial customers of
the new Williams network, which it was previously announced is
expanding from 11,000 route miles to 18,000 miles by the beginning of
1999.
Williams, with 14 years of experience in building and running a
national fiber-optic network, already operates the fifth largest
fiber-optic network in the country.
"Our ability to address prospective customers after Jan. 5 has
convinced us that they are looking to Williams to enable competition in
this new telecommunications market," said Gordon Martin, vice president
of sales and marketing for Williams Network. "These new construction
projects will provide carriers with the exceptionally robust and
comprehensive network they need to serve their own customers."
Williams' network employs transport systems with Dense Wavelength
Division Multiplexing from Nortel, delivering up to 80 gigabits per
second on a single- fiber OC-192 system. Williams also utilizes the GX
550 ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) switch from Ascend Communications
to meet growing volumes of data traffic. The scalable switch adds top
speed and capacity to the Williams backbone network.
As previously announced, Williams will complete work later this year on
new fiber-optic segments of 1,600 miles from Portland, Ore., to Los
Angeles; 2,000 miles linking Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Washington,
D.C., and New York and 4,500 miles between New York and Los Angeles.
In January, Williams announced it has a memorandum of understanding to
acquire 350 miles of high-capacity fiber from MediaOne, linking
Jacksonville and suburban Miami, Fla.
New projects announced today will link Jacksonville to Williams'
existing fiber at Atlanta, then will complete a Gulf Coast loop from
Miami through Fort Myers, Tampa, Tallahassee, Pensacola and Mobile,
Ala. to New Orleans. Across the girth of Florida, new fiber will link
Daytona Beach, Orlando and Tampa, also by the end of the first quarter
next year.
At the same time, route development is under way for new fiber routes
to be constructed in 1999 that will link Chicago with Milwaukee,
Minneapolis, Kansas City, Denver and Salt Lake City. These routes
intersect at several points with existing Williams fiber.
"These routes are significant for their market penetration, as well as
for closing network rings, which further strengthens our network
reliability," said Joe Turcotte, vice president of operations and
engineering for Williams Network. "Not only will it provide
much-needed fiber capacity in the Midwest region, but it will further
enhance our ability to serve the highly populated areas in Florida and
along the Gulf Coast."
About Williams
Williams, through its subsidiaries, is the nation's largest-volume
transporter of natural gas and provides a full range of traditional and
leading-edge energy and communications services. Its communications
enterprises include nationwide single-source business communications
systems integration; international video satellite and fiber-optic
transmission; multipoint video- and audio-conferencing; satellite
business applications; enhanced fax services; interactive technical
training, on-demand distance learning and Internet and telemarketing
services. Company information is available at twc.com and
wilcom.com. (All trademarks are the property of their respective owners)
SOURCE Williams
-0- 02/11/98 /CONTACT: Julie Gentz,
918-588-3053, or julie.gentz@wilcom.com, or Gil Broyles, 918-588-4740,
or gil.broyles@wilcom.com, both of Williams/
/Web site: twc.com and wilcom.com (WMB)
CO: Williams ST: Oklahoma, Florida, Illinois, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana IN: TLS SU:
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