e.spire Selects Fujitsu to Provide High-Capacity DWDM Equipment for New York City Metro Area Network; FLASHWAVE DWDM System Provides Network Expandability.

RICHARDSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1999--

Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., announced today that e.spire Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:ESPI), a leading integrated communications provider, selected Fujitsu's high-speed, high-capacity dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) equipment for its advanced Internet, data, and voice services fiber-optic network serving the New York metropolitan area.

The network connects Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, western Long Island and Westchester County through a series of local fiber-optic loops. In addition, e.spire is connecting its networks in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C./northern Virginia area with its northeast facilities in New York City and Philadelphia through a broadband, long-haul fiber-optic network. Together, these networks will provide e.spire with some of the most extensive local and long-haul Internet, data, and voice capabilities in the northeast United States.

Fujitsu is supplying the FLASHWAVE 320G in the "40G" (40 gigabits per second) configuration. The 40G configuration provides a cost-effective yet upgradable DWDM system for e.spire's 182-mile New York City network. DWDM allows multiple wavelengths to be carried on the same fiber, significantly increasing network capacity and ensuring the lowest cost-per-bit transport. e.spire's DWDM-equipped network includes 10 OC-48 (2.5 Gbps) transmission rings, each of which can carry the equivalent of more than 32,000 simultaneous telephone calls. The network will serve multiple colocation sites, two "carrier hotels," and a number of targeted end-user buildings. A carrier hotel is a building that is shared by several long-distance carriers.

"The DWDM technology that e.spire is using in New York allows us to significantly increase our network capacity without adding fiber, and Fujitsu's FLASHWAVE system allows us to do so on an as needed basis," said Dennis Kern, e.spire's chief operating officer. "For e.spire, this means a state-of-the-art network at a lower cost. For New York businesses, it means access to high-speed, reliable integrated Internet, data, and voice services that can grow in concert with their communications needs."

The e.spire network includes five Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) rings: three in Manhattan, one encompassing the Bronx and White Plains in Westchester County, and one through Brooklyn and Queens to Nassau County, Long Island. The New York City network is part of e.spire's larger 650-mile regional network extending from New York City to Washington, D.C./northern Virginia.

To support future expansion, the 40 Gbps FLASHWAVE system being installed by e.spire in New York can be upgraded to handle up to 320 Gbps -- 32 channels of OC-192 (10 Gbps) -- over a single fiber line.

"Scalability is one of the key benefits of our FLASHWAVE system," said George Chase, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Fujitsu. "The ability to upgrade from the 40G configuration to the full 320G system provides tremendous growth opportunity for e.spire."

Fujitsu and e.spire have a long-standing relationship, with Fujitsu having supplied equipment for approximately half of e.spire's networks. For New York, Fujitsu's contract with e.spire also includes the Fujitsu Access/Transport System (FACTR(R)) and Fujitsu's FLM 150, FLM 600, and FLM 2400 add/drop multiplexers (ADMs), which provide transmission rates of 155 megabits per second to 2.5 Gbps. The FACTR system combines access and SONET transport on a single access platform, delivering everything from survivable DS0-based services to high-capacity services.

e.spire Communications, Inc., is a leading integrated communications provider, offering traditional local and long distance, Internet access and Web-hosting services, and advanced data solutions, such as native ATM and frame relay. In addition, e.spire's subsidiary, ACSI NT, provides third parties, including other communications concerns, municipalities and corporations, with turnkey fiber-optic design, construction and project management expertise. For more information on e.spire, contact http://www.espire.net.

Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., designs and manufactures fiber-optic transmission and broadband switching platforms, develops software that allows customers to perform in-service management and monitoring of the telephone network, and provides network design, installation, and maintenance services. Its customers include local exchange carriers, interexchange carriers, competitive access providers, and cable TV operators, as well as large private networks in North America. Fujitsu Network Communications is part of Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702), a $43.3 billion leading provider of comprehensive information technology and networking solutions for the global marketplace. Product information is available by calling 800/777-FAST. Its World Wide Web site is www.fnc.fujitsu.com.

FLASHWAVE(tm) is a trademark of Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. FACTR(R) is a registered trademark of Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc.