Two New Services Help Businesses Overcome Internet Bandwidth Constraints And
Manage Migration From Frame Relay Networks to Ultra High-Speed ATM Networks
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric Lightwave Inc.
(Nasdaq: ELIX), an integrated communications provider, today announced the
completion of the first phase of its migration from a Frame Relay network to
an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) backbone. Electric Lightwave made the
announcement at the ATM Year '98 Conference and Exposition, being held this
week in San Jose, Calif. This ATM backbone deployment enables Electric
Lightwave to deliver higher speeds and greater throughput for data
transmission to its business customers.
Electric Lightwave also announced the availability of two new services,
ATM and Transparent Local Area Network (LAN) Services, to help business
customers overcome bandwidth constraints as well as provide a cost-effective
wide area network (WAN) management and a migration solution from Frame Relay
networks to ATM networks. Electric Lightwave will initially offer ATM and
Transparent LAN Services to businesses in Ariz., Calif., Idaho, Ore., Utah and
Wash., with nationwide availability by year-end.
"With the first phase of our ATM infrastructure completed, we've improved
performance and increased our bandwidth efficiency, which allows us to provide
even more flexible services to business customers," said Dan Dunn, ATM and
Transparent LAN product manager for Electric Lightwave. "With businesses
continually requiring additional bandwidth, switching to a high-speed ATM
network allows us to prepare for the not-so-distant future, when companies
utilize only one network for all their data, voice and video transmission
needs."
Specifically designed to meet the current demand for more bandwidth,
Electric Lightwave's ATM Service is a solution that enables business customers
to select the quality of service needed and to conduct reliable, ultra
high-speed transmission for data services, as well as voice and video. In
addition, the service includes Frame Relay service interworking capability
which allows companies to customize their network to support Frame Relay and
ATM or a combination of both. With its ATM network, Electric Lightwave can
now deliver one of the highest speeds for data transmission to business
customers with available speeds ranging from 64 kbps to OC3 (155 Mbps).
Electric Lightwave's cost-effective Transparent LAN Service provides
businesses seeking to reduce equipment and overhead costs with a complete
managed networking solution for WAN data connectivity. Utilizing Electric
Lightwave's ATM network, and Sonoma Systems' broadband access unit as the
customer premise equipment, this customized service provides corporations with
a seamless managed Transparent LAN service using native LAN protocols. This
allows improved data throughput, enhanced data security and flexible bandwidth
that eliminates the bottlenecks of traditional LAN support.
ATM provides greater bandwidth than Frame Relay
Frame Relay is a high-speed data packet switching service used to transmit
data between computers. Frame Relay was designed to operate at higher speeds
on modern fiber optic networks and is ideal for connecting LANs, but it was
not designed for voice and video applications. ATM provides high-bandwidth,
low-delay packet switching and multiplexing, which is used to transfer voice,
video, images and character-based data.
The ATM network upgrade will provide scalability, greater speed and
improved quality of service for Electric Lightwave's highly-rated Internet
backbone. The company recently ranked third in the nation for "Best Internet
Value" by Boardwatch Magazine.
About Electric Lightwave
Based in Vancouver, Wash., Electric Lightwave Inc. is a full-service
integrated communications provider offering local and long distance telephone
service, videoconferencing, prepaid services, data and Internet access
services to business customers throughout the western United States. Visit
Electric Lightwave on the World Wide Web at http://www.eli.net.
NOTE: All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their
respective owners, with no intent to infringe.
SOURCE Electric Lightwave, Inc.
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.eli.net
CONTACT:
Jack Hardy of Electric Lightwave Inc.,
360-816-3602, or jack_hardy@eli.net; or Michele Ruegg,
425-450-9965, or micheler@kmrc.com, or Christina Velasquez,
425-450-9965, or christinav@kmrc.com, both of Kaufer Miller
Communications, for Electric Lightwave
|
