To: djane who wrote (47050 ) 5/17/1998 7:16:00 PM From: djane Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 61433
PSINet one step closer to terabit dreams David Kopf, May 13, 1998americasnetwork.com Internet service provider (ISP) PSINet Inc. (Herndon, Va.) has added 18 dark fiber optic strands to its network, which it will integrate with its 10,000-mile, nationwide OC-48 network (acquired last February) and its 12,000-mile, transatlantic STM-1 network (acquired last March). PSINet acquired the fiber from Metromedia Fiber Network (New York) for $33.2 million, with a contract that will release the fiber to the ISP for the next 20 years. The 18 newly acquired, dark fiber strands cover the New York City metropolitan area (four strands), the Washington metropolitan area (four strands), and the route between the two East Coast points (10 strands), according to a company spokesperson. The New York-to-Washington link will include multiple drop-offs to Newark, N.J.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Wilmington, Del.; and Baltimore, Md. Using wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), PSINet's new fiber will be able to carry 96 Gbps, and the ISP says that it expects improvements in dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) will let it increase bandwidth to 2 Tbps. Why all the network muscle? Internet telephony, according to William L. Schrader, PSINet's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "I anticipate that more than 80% of all voice traffic in the world will be carried by the Internet within five years," Schrader says. "While some switched voice traffic may remain on the traditional PSTN [public switched telephone network], I believe the entire market will be dominated by the Internet. In order to service these burgeoning demands, PSINet requires large amounts of capacity in this corridor." Despite the newly added fiber, PSINet has not yet announced any voice/IP services, but expects to do so later this year, the company says. In any case, PSINet still has to light the fiber. The ISP plans to buy and activate the optical equipment necessary to bring the network online over the next five years. PSINet expects lighting its dark fiber to cost approximately $45 million. A portion of PSINet's recently completed $600 million financing will pay for the fiber and equipment, the company says. Back to home Copyright 1998 Advanstar Communications. Please send any technical comments or questions to the America's Network webmaster.