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To: djane who wrote (50297)	7/23/1998 3:07:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

Frontier Extends Network into Southeast Through Agreement With Williams Expansion Connects 20 More Cities to Frontier Network; Anchor Tenant for Williams Network in Southeast ROCHESTER, N.Y., and TULSA, Okla., July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Frontier Corporation (NYSE:FRO) and Williams (NYSE:WMB) today jointly announced that Frontier is expanding its optronics network nearly 3,000 route miles in the southeast United States. Williams is providing Frontier with multiple fiber-optic routes connecting three fully-redundant fiber rings through Houston, Atlanta, Tampa and Miami, in a $68 million deal. This is among the largest in a series of transactions in which Williams has leveraged capacity on its rapidly-expanding fiber network to reduce capital costs and implement its own network expansion. Both companies plan to release quarterly earnings today. The two companies called the agreement mutually beneficial, since each addresses different market segments. Frontier's target markets are small to medium-sized businesses and carrier customers with high-bandwidth requirements. Williams is the only broadband network with an exclusively wholesale strategy; its customers include regional Bell operating companies, long distance service providers, interexchange carriers, local exchange carriers, internet service providers and utilities. "Since we are building our network with our customers' needs in mind, we looked for a network expansion strategy that would fit those requirements," said Joseph P. Clayton, president and chief executive officer of Frontier. "Williams provided us with a solution that made good economic sense, added additional routes for reliability, and provided customers in the southeast quicker access to our optronics network. We also agreed to exchange capacity and work cooperatively with Williams where it is cost-effective and complements our respective networks." Frontier's base 13,000 mile 24-strand national fiber network is now scheduled for completion in early 1999. An additional 1,600 miles of OC-48 capacity in the northwest U.S. will come on-line before year-end. With these southeast rings, Frontier's network will become an 18,000-mile system connecting 120 cities in an 11-ring design by year-end 1999. "Frontier is putting together one of the most reliable, scaleable, robust and far-reaching next-generation networks in the industry today," said Clayton. "The additional fiber rings in the southeast provide us with facilities touching key business hubs. Our goal is to be the preferred network backbone supplier to heavy-lifting bandwidth users, such as ISPs and data-intensive or Web-centric businesses. This additional capacity will allow us to extend the reach of our ATM and IP solutions to a broader base of those customers." As part of its optronics network, Frontier will utilize state-of-the-art electronics and DWDM (dense wave division multiplexing) equipment. DWDM optimizes the capacity and today can turn each individual fiber strand into multiple "virtual" fibers. Howard E. Janzen, president and chief executive officer of Williams Communications, noted, "The agreement between Williams and Frontier is the first step in what we hope is a long-term strategic relationship between our two companies. Customers such as Frontier are key to expanding our wholesale network and reducing our capital costs. We are pleased to offer Frontier the most cost effective solution for a reliable, secure, leading-edge network in the southeast. This transaction, and others like it, capitalize on Williams' core competency in broadband network construction." The Williams network will expand to 18,000 miles by the end of 1998 and to 32,000 miles connecting 100 cities by the end of 2001. Williams was the first carrier to introduce ATM technology as the core transmission platform, using OC-192 transport systems with DWDM to deliver up to 160 gigabits per second in 16 waves on a single fiber. A minimum of 96 fibers is installed in every build, with multiple conduits -- one now and two for future fiber requirements. A map of Frontier's network, including the new southeast segments, is available in the company's website at frontiercorp.com. Information about Williams' present and planned network and a system map can be found at willtales.com.

To: djane who wrote (50297)	7/23/1998 3:11:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

Energy Giant Enron Touting Plans For National Fiber-Optic Network (Could be a nice contract for someone...) NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Energy giant Enron Corp., following in the footsteps of pipeline company Williams Cos., on Monday announced plans to build a national fiber-optic network "backbone" by the end of 2000 to offer wholesale capacity to Internet and phone companies. The strategy is reminiscent of Williams (WMB), which built a large fiber network along its gas pipelines, only to sell it in 1995 for $2.5 billion to LDDS, which is now part of WorldCom Inc. However, Williams kept a single strand of fiber and around that is building a new telecommunications business. With data now the fastest-growing market in telecommunications, Enron says its goal is to rent companies data-carrying capacity, using the powerful Internet-protocol technologies of fiber-optics, packet data transmission and computerized routers. The foundation of Enron's plan will be three fiber-optic loops covering much of the U.S. The Houston-based energy company, through its Enron Communications division, has joined forces with units of Montana Power Co., an electric utility, and Williams to build roughly 1,600 miles of fiber in the western U.S. The consortium, FTV Communications, is building a loop from Portland, Ore. - site of Enron's wholly owned electric utility, Portland General - to Los Angeles, hitting Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Boise, Idaho, along the way. Enron also has swapped some of its fiber on the route with Fonorola Inc., a Canadian phone company, in exchange for capacity on a fiber link between Portland and Seattle. The FTV loop should be finished by the end of the year. Enron Communications is in the engineering phase on the two other fiber loops: between Salt Lake City and Houston; and between Houston and Miami. Currently without partners on these projects, Enron said it plans to use its gas pipelines' rights of way for much of the fiber. Enron's extensive pipeline system provides an advantage: obtaining a right of way to lay fiber in these regions can be difficult, said Steven Parla, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. These two other loops should be completed by the end of 1999. Enron plans to use fiber swaps similar to the one with Fonorola to gain capacity on fiber networks reaching the Upper Midwest and Northeast. That way, Enron can have the backbone of a national network by the end of 2000, it said. The planned fiber network is still a minuscule business compared with Enron's energy assets, given the company had $20.3 billion in revenue last year. But fiber could wind up contributing to Enron's stock price by 2000, said Schroder & Co. analyst Raymond Niles. Niles is bullish on Enron, and he hasn't even factored the fiber business into his earnings estimates or his 12-month price target of $70. "I think it's a business with a lot of potential," he said. Enron's New York Stock Exchange-listed shares closed Monday at $56.688. Meanwhile, Williams has been moving aggressively into the capacity wholesale business, with plans for 18,000 miles of fiber by year-end - considerably more than Enron plans for its network. And the division, with much faster growth rates than regulated pipelines, has been helping Williams's shares command a premium to most pipeline stocks. Analysts said Enron is five to 10 years behind Williams in both infrastructure and experience. "This will not create another Williams Telecom," said Parla. "I think it (Enron Communications) can be meaningful, but I wouldn't want to oversell it now." Observers said the connections between natural gas, electricity and data are natural, given the skills needed to run complex networks. "It's a very similar business," said Robert Christensen, an analyst at Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. "You're just moving light instead of gas."