@Link Networks and US West Ink Line-Sharing Agreement.Business Editors/High Tech Writers BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2000 Integrated communications provider @Link Networks, along with a consortium of 12 other companies, today announced an agreement with US West to share phone lines for simultaneous data and voice communications throughout US West's service region. Under the terms of the agreement, @Link gains access to phone lines installed and owned by US West in 14 states. @Link also secures the clearance to deliver its next-generation broadband data and communications solutions to millions of potential small- and medium-sized business customers. "Through this agreement with US West, we will have access to millions of existing voice lines for broadband services See broadband and broadband service provider. in several of our target markets across Middle America Middle America 1 A region of southern North America comprising Mexico, Central America, and sometimes the West Indies. Middle American adj. & n. ," said Tim O'Neill, @Link chief network officer. "@Link and ultimately its customers will benefit from this kind of agreement in the form of improved customer service, reliable technology and cost-effective communications solutions." The line-sharing agreement will allow @Link to separate the voice and data frequencies that travel over copper phone lines, enabling the two types of communications to be transmitted simultaneously. @Link will now be able to provide high-speed data and video communications over the high-frequency portion of the local line, while US West will continue to provide voice communications over another portion of the same line. The deployment schedule targets US West-owned telephone Central Offices (COs) in 14 states including markets such as St. Paul St. Paul as a missionary he fearlessly confronts the “perils of waters, of robbers, in the city, in the wilderness.” [N.T.: II Cor. 11:26] See : Bravery , MN; Denver, CO; Omaha, NE; and Iowa City Iowa City, city (1990 pop. 59,738), seat of Johnson co., E Iowa, on both sides of the Iowa River; founded 1839 as the capital of Iowa Territory, inc. 1853. Among its manufactures are foam rubber, animal feed, paper, and food products. The city is the seat of the Univ. , IA. @Link will aggressively pursue line sharing with US West to meet the needs of business customers in each of these markets. @Link is currently actively engaged in one of the industry's most aggressive and ambitious network deployments. @Link's deployment plan includes servicing 30 markets in 14 states by the end of 2000, outfitting more than 1,000 telephone central offices with next-generation hardware and software. In November 1999, the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. (FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. ) ruled that local telephone exchange carriers such as US West would be required to share their phone lines - and thus their access to local communications customers - with other local access carriers. @Link Networks is among several co-providers, known as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), that recently negotiated access to US West phone lines. About @Link Networks @Link Networks, formerly Dakota Services, was founded in 1998 and specializes in broadband data and communications solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses. @Link is a leading provider of secure Virtual Private Network (VPN (Virtual Private Network) A private network that is configured within a public network (a carrier's network or the Internet) in order to take advantage of the economies of scale and management facilities of large networks. ) solutions and other high-speed data and communications services including video and, soon, voice, via access technologies such as Digital Subscriber Line See DSL. (communications, protocol) Digital Subscriber Line - (DSL, or Digital Subscriber Loop, xDSL - see below) A family of digital telecommunications protocols designed to allow high speed data communication over the existing copper telephone lines between end-users and (DSL DSL in full Digital Subscriber Line Broadband digital communications connection that operates over standard copper telephone wires. It requires a DSL modem, which splits transmissions into two frequency bands: the lower frequencies for voice (ordinary ). @Link is building a next-generation packet-switched network utilizing an Asynchronous Transfer Mode See ATM. (communications) Asynchronous Transfer Mode - (ATM, or "fast packet") A method for the dynamic allocation of bandwidth using a fixed-size packet (called a cell). See also ATM Forum, Wideband ATM. ATM acronyms. Indiana acronyms. (ATM) backbone and advanced switching capabilities that enables the company to offer its business customers extensive Quality of Service and Class of Service capabilities, including highly customized broadband solutions and iron-clad service level agreements and performance guarantees. @Link serves customers in Illinois and Wisconsin and will serve markets in 14 more states by the end of 2000. |
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