Eli's Western SONET Ring Will Boost the Company's Network Capacity Route Miles
By Nearly 500 Percent, Create Significant Cost Savings by Replacing Leased
Capacity and Position the Company for Exponential Growth Well Into the 21st
Century
VANCOUVER, Wash., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Electric Lightwave Inc.
(Nasdaq: ELIX) today announced completion of two segments of its $131 million
long haul route that will ultimately span 3,200 miles, cross five states and
create one of the largest ringed OC-192 Synchronous Optical Networks (SONET)
in the western United States.
Electric Lightwave's western ring incorporates self-healing SONET over
Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM), the industry's leading-edge
technology, which will create a network of ultra-high capacity, reliability
and unsurpassed speed. When the ring is completed, it will increase Electric
Lightwave's long haul network capacity route miles by 462 percent.
This investment positions Electric Lightwave for significant growth well
into the 21st century because the DWDM technology enables the network to be
easily upgraded to 16 and then 32 times the initial OC-192 capacity. A network
of that capacity could accommodate the equivalent of more than 4 million phone
calls simultaneously.
"Our western SONET ring is the largest fiber construction project Electric
Lightwave has ever undertaken. Completing these two segments, which comprise
nearly one-third of the total route, on schedule and within budget is a
milestone to celebrate," said Jerry Cady, ELI's vice president of engineering
and operations. "We expect the entire 3,200-mile route to be complete by year
end and look forward to the vast improvements in service and quality that
completing this network will make for our customers and our bottom line."
Constructing the western SONET ring will enable the company to deliver its
full suite of high-speed telecommunications services entirely over its own
network. This will allow the company more control over provisioning, quality
and service for its customers. In addition, transitioning traffic from leased
to its own network will allow the company to significantly reduce operating
costs.
The western SONET ring route connects Portland to Boise, Salt Lake City,
Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento. The completed Boise to
Salt Lake City and Boise to Portland segments, which are now operational and
handling network traffic, span nearly 1,000 miles.
When the 3,200-mile western SONET ring is completed, it will connect each
of Electric Lightwave's extensive metropolitan area networks in Boise,
Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Spokane to create a
6,300 route mile network, or nearly double the company's current route miles.
About Electric Lightwave
Electric Lightwave Inc. is a leading facilities-based 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 and data 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.
In its full-service markets, the company offers businesses local and
long-distance telephone service and high-speed broadband transport via its
fiber optic networks that interconnect 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 .
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 the
Company's Annual Report 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, 360-816-4518, or
susan_farmer@eli.net, or Jack Hardy, 360-816-3602, or
jack_hardy@eli.net, both of Electric Lightwave Inc.
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