Winstar unveils 'Broadband Plus'.

Winstar Communications, Inc. has unveiled Broadband Plus, a dedicated, high-speed, high-capacity broadband network to serve New York City's booming Silicon Alley, known for its fast-growing Internet and new media companies.

"By working with local business improvement districts, the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the New York New Media Association, Winstar was able to design a fast and reliable communications service that best suits the needs of Silicon Alley businesses and supports the area's continued growth as an international center for high-technology and e-businesses," said Nathan Kantor, president and COO of Winstar. "The generally older commercial buildings in bandwidth-intensive Silicon Alley gain immediate advantages from Broadband Plus through the upgrading of infrastructure, scaleable bandwidth or capacity on demand, and an ease of implementation that cannot be matched by any other carrier. We are replicating our success in Silicon Alley in other high-tech business districts nationwide."

Winstar has developed customized services to meet the growing needs of owners, property managers and their commercial tenants, including high-speed Internet access and data transmission; Web hosting, design and applications services; Web-based content; and bundled local, long-distance and Internet services. Winstar also offers professional services, including information technology consulting, outsourcing and network management. In addition, Winstar recently launched Office.com, which was ranked first overall among Online Business Centers by Cahners In-Stat Group. Office.com is a feature-rich destination Internet site combining deep, industry-specific content, community, e-commerce and communications services from best-of-breed partners and in-house experts for small and medium-sized businesses.

As part of its strategic alliance with Lucent Technologies, Winstar offers Lucent's web-based video-conferencing. This enables building owners to create e-business centers and offer a wide range of high-quality video-conferencing services at reasonable rates to tenants within their buildings.

Additionally, Winstar recently began offering Microsoft's Office 2000 as an application service, allowing customers to access the application software from remotely hosted servers with the same speeds and performance that they have come to expect from software installed at their desktops. This service enables customers to adopt an Internet-centered business focus and access information on an as-needed basis.

"Silicon Alley is attracting many exciting Internet-based, technology-driven companies, and these tenants demand - and deserve - an exceptional communications infrastructure," said David Gmach, president of the 14th Street Business Improvement District, which is part of the area covered by Winstar's Broadband Plus effort.