Final Fiber Optic Segments Completed From Las Vegas to Los Angeles,
Los Angeles to the Bay Area and Bay Area to Sacramento; Network Route Miles
Doubled Since 1998
VANCOUVER, Wash., July 13 /PRNewswire/ --
Electric Lightwave Inc. (Nasdaq: ELIX), a broadband integrated communications
provider, today announced completion of the last three segments of its
$131 million long haul fiber optic network. The company's self-healing SONET
(Synchronous Optical Network) architecture includes DWDM (dense wave division
multiplexing) technology and spans more than 3,200 miles, crosses seven states
and is one of the largest ringed OC-192 SONET systems in the western
United States.
"By completing the construction of our Western SONET ring, we are now able
to replace leased capacity lines with our own fiber and move traffic to all
points within our network. This significantly reduces our operating costs.
It also allows our customer's voice, video, data and Internet traffic to
travel over Electric Lightwave's ultra-high capacity network with unsurpassed
speed and reliability," said Michael Petty, vice president of network planning
and engineering for Electric Lightwave.
The final construction of Electric Lightwave's Western SONET ring will
interconnect with existing longhaul routes to Eugene, Ore., Phoenix, Spokane,
Wash., and Seattle as well as each of the company's extensive MAN
(metropolitan area networks) cities. These include Boise, Phoenix, Portland,
Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Spokane. It also allows
Electric Lightwave to connect its owned and operated longhaul network to its
national data network with links to the following cities: Atlanta, Austin,
Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Irvine, Calif., Las Vegas,
Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and
Washington D.C.
The company's longhaul and MAN route miles total more than 6,300 with the
completion of its Western SONET ring. This doubles Electric Lightwave's
network capacity route miles since the end of 1998. Additionally,
Electric Lightwave's investment in building its own SONET system will forge
its growth well into the 21st century as the DWDM technology enables the
company to easily upgrade its network up to 32 times the initial network
capacity.
Earlier this year, Electric Lightwave announced the completion of its
Sacramento to Portland and Salt Lake City to Las Vegas segments. In September
1999, the company announced the completion of its Boise to Salt Lake City and
Boise to Portland segments.
About Electric Lightwave
Electric Lightwave Inc. is a broadband integrated communications provider
of Internet, data, voice and dedicated access services to
communications-intensive businesses and the growing online business community.
The company owns and operates a nationally acclaimed Internet and data
network, as well as high-speed fiber optic networks that interconnect major
markets in the West. Headquartered in Vancouver, Wash., the company employs
1,182 and generated revenues of $187 million in 1999, up 85 percent from 1998.
Additional information about Electric Lightwave is located on the Web at
http://www.eli.net. The company is 82 percent owned by Citizens Utilities
(NYSE: CZN, CZNPr).
SOURCE Electric Lightwave Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.eli.net
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/117258.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 117258
CONTACT:
Enid Lamey, 360-816-4682, or pager,
800-368-9102, or enid_lamey@eli.net, or Fletcher Chamberlin,
360-816-3996, or fletcher_chamberlin@eli.net, both of Electric
Lightwave Inc.
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