Electric Lightwave Will Provide Local Network Access for IXC Customers
In Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Phoenix, Boise and Spokane
VANCOUVER, Wash., July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric Lightwave Inc.
(Nasdaq: ELIX) today announced that Austin-based IXC Communications Inc.
(Nasdaq: IIXC) has selected Electric Lightwave as its preferred local network
access provider in all of ELI's full-service markets.
Those markets include Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Sacramento,
Phoenix, Boise, Idaho, and Spokane, Wash.
In these seven markets, Electric Lightwave operates its own $450-million
high-speed fiber optic network of Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) rings
that include 144,000 fiber optic miles connected to 783 office buildings and
43 local exchange carrier central offices.
In April, Electric Lightwave and IXC Communications agreed to a 20-year
fiber swap valued at approximately $178 million.
"We're very pleased with this announcement. This move enhances the
strategic relationship we're building between Electric Lightwave and IXC,"
said Dave Sharkey, president and chief operating officer of Electric
Lightwave.
Mike Vent, president of IXC's network services, said, "IXC chose Electric
Lightwave as its preferred local network access provider in this region with
our customers in mind. We want to provide our business customers with the best
quality and features in local telephone service, to get their voice and data
services to them quickly and at a fair price. We know Electric Lightwave will
exceed our standards, satisfy our customers, and they'll do it faster and for
a better price than competitors."
IXC will connect to Electric Lightwave's SONET-ring networks in each of
these markets with high-capacity OC-48s, except for Spokane and Boise, which
will be OC-12s.
A conservative estimate of revenue that might be generated for Electric
Lightwave from the three-year agreement is more than $6 million.
Jim Parker, vice president of Electric Lightwave's wholesale division,
said, "We appreciate IXC's confidence in us and their business. This agreement
allows us to leverage the strength of IXC's sales force, and that's a good
team to have on our side."
Industry analyst Terry Barnich, president of New Paradigm Resources Group
in Chicago and Seattle, said, "This contract confirms our belief that Electric
Lightwave belongs in the first tier of CLECs, providing its region with
high-quality services that have long been recognized by its customers and now
by carriers."
About Electric Lightwave Inc.
Electric Lightwave Inc. is a leading integrated communications provider of
enhanced data services, frame relay, ATM and Internet access solutions to
bandwidth intensive businesses and the growing e-commerce market. The company
provides long distance, data and prepaid services nationwide, with data
points-of-presence in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas,
Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, San
Jose and Washington, D.C.
As a full-service provider, the company offers businesses local, long
distance and prepaid telephone service, videoconferencing and high-speed
broadband transport that interconnects major markets in the West, including
Seattle, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Boise, Spokane and Portland,
Ore.
Headquartered in Vancouver, Wash., the company employs 1,200 and earned
revenues of $101 million in 1998, up 65 percent from 1997. Additional
information about Electric Lightwave Inc. is located on the World Wide Web at
http://www.eli.net.
About IXC Communications Inc.
IXC Communications Inc.'s network-based delivery solutions are designed to
address the speed and capacity requirements of the global communications
market. IXC offerings include private line, fast packet (ATM and frame relay),
Internet and long-distance switched and dedicated services. IXC Communication
is at the forefront of the industry's new class of emerging domestic and
international carriers that include Qwest and Level 3. For more information,
visit IXC's Web site at http://www.ixc-comm.com.
Forward-looking statements
Forward-looking information is subject to risk and uncertainty: This
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements should
be read with the cautionary statements and important factors included in both
Companies' Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 at
Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and
Results of Operations."
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:
Susan Farmer of Electric Lightwave Inc.,
voicemail, 360-816-4518, or pager, 888-328-9235, or
susan_farmer@eli.net; or Melissa Jackson of IXC Communications
Inc., 512-231-5247, or mjackson@ixc-comm.com
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