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

To: Techplayer who wrote (60870)	4/22/1999 8:20:00 AM
From: Mark Duper	Respond to of 61433

BEST BID 96 1/4

To: Techplayer who wrote (60870)	4/22/1999 8:33:00 AM
From: Mark Duper	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

a few trades @ 98.

To: Techplayer who wrote (60870)	4/30/1999 6:38:00 PM
From: Techplayer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 61433

GTC Telecom & Williams Communications Form Alliance to Create, Equip and Manage Voice Over IP Network COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1999-- Private Network Allows GTC to Become an Industry Leader in Voice Over IP Telephony Technology GTC Telecom (OTC BB:GTCC) Thursday announced it has entered into a strategic alliance with Williams Communications, a unit of Williams (NYSE:WMB), as a single source for GTC's high-speed, nationwide network. The contract is expected to exceed $100 million over a five-year term. The creation of GTC Telecom's private network makes the company one of the first to have a fully operational, nationwide, private voice over IP network. This will allow GTC customers access to toll quality long-distance service that in the past was virtually unattainable with Internet Protocol technology. Under the agreement, Williams Communications will provide GTC a single source for dedicated bandwidth capacity, network management services and optical equipment. The new GTC Telecom network will run on Williams Communications' nationwide fiber-optic network. Currently, Williams has 17,600 route miles in service, 20,000 miles of fiber in the ground, and plans to complete 32,000 route miles connecting 125 cities by the end of 2000. Williams Communications will design, install, maintain and fully manage the voice over IP network for GTC Telecom, including installation of the network hubs in major markets. It will monitor the GTC Telecom network around-the-clock from the Williams Communications Network Operations Centers in St. Louis and in Tulsa, Okla. The voice over IP network will use the Williams Communications ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) backbone to enable GTC to take advantage of unprecedented bandwidth capabilities. The Williams Multi-Service Broadband Network(TM) architecture couples ATM core switching with advanced optical networking technologies to provide carriers with data, voice, video and Internet services over the platform they choose. Using OC-192 transport systems with Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing, the Williams network delivers up to 160 Gbps in 16 waves on a single fiber. Williams Communications Solutions, a unit of Williams Communications, will provide Ascend data communications and internetworking equipment for the GTC network. "This alliance with Williams Communications is a giant step in the development of GTC Telecom as a nationwide long-distance carrier. We will now become one of the first companies that will have their own nationwide voice over IP network in operation. This network will allow GTC to provide complete services in four key areas: telephone, modem, video conferencing and as a first-tier ISP," stated Paul Sandhu, president and chief executive officer of GTC Telecom. Sandhu continued, "What makes this network venture with Williams Communications so unique is that our alliance will allow us to create a network using voice over IP technology that will have virtually infinite expandability with respect to bandwidth capacity. The Williams network has the capacity to provide us with the infrastructure to reach our goal of 1.2 billion minutes of long distance traffic per month. We will also have a fully managed network, which means that we will have expert technical and engineering staff monitoring our network at all times." Mark Fleming, executive vice president of GTC Telecom commented, "On the operations end, by having our own network, GTC will see a significant reduction in the cost to offer long-distance services. This gives us even greater flexibility and will translate into increased profit margins for GTC."