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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ashley Campbell who wrote (41659)	3/31/1998 3:59:00 PM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

News.com article "$1.5 billion to upgrade Bell Atlantic" Excerpt related to ASND: "Contracts for other components, such as switches or loop access products, will be announced over time. Bell Atlantic said it continues to look at its supplier base and will award those contracts as the project progresses. " By Reuters Special to CNET NEWS.COM March 31, 1998, 9:30 a.m. PT URL: news.com NEW YORK--Bell Atlantic (BEL) has chosen five equipment suppliers to take part in plans to spend $1.5 billion over the next five years to upgrade its network capacity to handle both voice and data at high speeds. Bell Atlantic said in a statement yesterday it had selected Ciena Corporation, DSC Communications, Fujitsu Network Communications, Lucent Technologies, and Tellabs. "This is primarily a growth and upgrade strategy...to make the network faster, better, stronger," said Mike Daigle, Bell Atlantic's director of network planning transport-circuit. "Other local exchange carriers are coming into our region all the time. We're doing this for internal reasons, to have the current standards of technology and to position our network competitively," Daigle said. The network improvement project is just one initiative Bell Atlantic plans to make in the data area. The Baby Bell previously asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to build a high-speed network. Bell Atlantic plans to spend in the range of $400 million to $500 million with both Fujitsu and Lucent, $400 million to $460 million with Tellabs, and $200 million to $260 million with DSC Communications over five years, Bell Atlantic spokesman Ells Edwards said. The spokesman said Lucent and Ciena are roughly splitting a contract worth $25 million to $35 million over five years to supply equipment known as "dense wave division multiplexers," which multiply the capacity of high-traffic fiber optic networks. Edwards said the value of the contracts was based on current projections and could be revised upward or downward over time. The $1.5 billion project represents about 5 percent of Bell Atlantic's estimated capital spending over the next five years, Edwards and Daigle said. Under the agreements, Fujitsu will provide equipment used to handle high-speed traffic within metropolitan networks. DSC and Tellabs will supply digital cross-connect systems that interconnect various regional networks. Ciena will provide multiplexers. Lucent will provide both multiplexers and high-speed metropolitan network equipment. Contracts for other components, such as switches or loop access products, will be announced over time. Bell Atlantic said it continues to look at its supplier base and will award those contracts as the project progresses. Story Copyright c 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Go to Front Door \| The Net \| Search \| Short takes \| One Week View How to pick the right server. COMPUTERS.COM Copyright c 1995-98 CNET, Inc. All rights reserved.