Broadwing's Rick Ellenberger Proves to Insurance Executives the Value of Moving at Internet Speed.

Business Editors, High Tech Writers

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2001

Keynote Address Focuses on Enabling Power of Killer Platform to

Enhance Customer Service, Increase Productivity and Reduce Costs

Rick Ellenberger, president and CEO of next-generation communications provider Broadwing Inc. (NYSE:BRW), today discussed the disruptive potential of the world's first optical `killer platform' at The IVANS Chief Executive Forum; a gathering of the top leaders from across the insurance industry.

"The reality is that the constraints of bandwidth availability, provisioning intervals, protocol dependence, and storage capacity and retrieval, have kept customers from realizing the true potential of multimedia and rich content in their business applications," said Ellenberger. "Technology alone cannot address their concerns and unfetter customers from the limitations of legacy networks. It takes the right combination of vision, assets, and execution to produce a killer platform that enables disruptive applications and revolutionizes business models."

Ellenberger, recently named Smart Executive's Internet Executive of the Year, highlighted Broadwing's deployment of the world's first end-to-end fully optical network as the event that will provide customers with bandwidth that is `liquid' -- defined as infinitely scaleable, instantly available, and incrementally billable.

"Broadwing's industry-leading 18,500 mile IP network has the most capacity of any existing network," said Ellenberger. "Fortune 500 companies are already recognizing that our optical IP network will be the enabler that transforms multimedia and content-rich applications into critical business drivers."

Ellenberger also discussed the disruptive power of having bandwidth that is instantly available and billable on a per use basis. He shared the experience of a major cable network that used Broadwing's liquid bandwidth to immediately react to this year's historic presidential election and keep their viewers up-to-date, while keeping their costs in line.

"One of the advantages of liquid bandwidth is that provisioning a circuit is a keyboard exercise rather than a labor intensive, hardware driven event," said Ellenberger. "For example, visualize having the bandwidth you need in minutes rather than months, by clicking a mouse instead of waiting for a technician."

Ellenberger cited Broadwing's dynamic culture and rich collection of assets, including the industry's first Optical Media Centers, an explosive managed hosting capability, a full suite of IP services, and its award-winning network as the reason behind their 9 to 12 month market advantage in the optical networking space.

"The next internet frontier will be populated by full-motion video, CD-quality audio, 3-dimensional imaging, and other content-rich applications that will require the combination of deep storage and high-bandwidth networks to consolidate previously unimaginable amounts of data for easy storage and retrieval by users."

About Broadwing

Broadwing Inc. (NYSE:BRW) combines unparalleled customer service with the industry's most advanced and flexible 18,500 mile next-generation fiber optic network and award-winning IP backbone, to create data and Internet solutions that are innovative, reliable, and provide businesses a competitive advantage. Broadwing will be the first provider with a fully deployed optical network and sets the standard for customer accountability with the industry's only Installation Guarantee. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and Austin, Texas with 6,000 employees in 56 sales and service offices across the country, Broadwing can be found on the Web at www.broadwing.com.