8/28/06
XO Communications Deploys Fixed Broadband Wireless in Nine Cities to Expand Metro Coverage and Reduce Network Access Costs
- Service Availability in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, San Diego, Tampa and Washington, DC Metropolitan Areas
- Fixed Broadband Wireless Provides Last Mile Access Alternative to Deliver Dedicated Internet Access and Metro Ethernet Services at 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps Directly to Customer Locations
- Expands XO Network Reach to Any Line of Sight Location within Five Miles
RESTON, VA - XO Communications today announced its first significant market deployments of fixed broadband wireless technology that will broaden its ability to deliver business-class broadband solutions directly to businesses and help the company reduce local network costs.
XO has deployed fixed broadband wireless in nine metropolitan markets – Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, San Diego, Tampa and Washington, DC – representing the first in a series of markets nationwide in which XO plans to utilize fixed broadband wireless technology through a partnership with its sister company, Nextlink, the leading provider of broadband wireless services and the nation’s largest holder of Local Multipoint Distribution System (LMDS) spectrum with licenses in 75 metropolitan markets.
XO will utilize LMDS fixed broadband wireless as a last mile access method to deliver Dedicated Internet Access and Metropolitan and Inter-city Ethernet solutions directly to businesses at speeds of 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps. From Nextlink wireless hubs deployed in each market, XO can deliver services to any qualified line-of-site location within an average of five miles to support a wide range of networking services including Internet access, voice over IP (VoIP), and private business local area networks at native LAN speeds. XO is also reducing local network costs by replacing leased circuits that connect local switch locations to the XO network with more cost-effective and scalable fixed wireless links.
By utilizing fixed broadband wireless services, XO will help fill a critical gap for businesses that require higher speed broadband access but are constrained by the bandwidth limitations of copper or lack direct access to fiber. Last-mile copper connections often cannot scale to meet high bandwidth demands, while fiber is too costly and time-consuming to deploy, or simply not available at every business location. Today, less than 20 percent of buildings in the United States have direct access to fiber.
“With fixed broadband wireless technology, we are significantly expanding the reach of our network to serve even more businesses, specifically those businesses that do not have direct fiber connections to support their growing bandwidth needs,” said Carl Grivner, CEO of XO Communications. “In addition to expanding our network, fixed wireless also gives us a more cost-effective and scalable replacement to leased network elements that connect local switches to our own fiber network.”
With extensive metro fiber assets, local collocation facilities and fixed wireless technology, XO has the ability to offer services to customers through a broad range of broadband access methods, including
- XO metro fiber networks in 37 metropolitan markets
- High-speed fixed wireless links with potential service in 75 metropolitan markets, and
- Last-mile copper in more than 60 metropolitan markets, using Ethernet over copper technology.
About XO Communications
XO Communications, a subsidiary of XO Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: XOHO.OB), is a leading provider of national and local telecommunications services to businesses, large enterprises and communications service providers. XO offers a complete portfolio of services, including local and long distance voice, dedicated Internet access, private networking, data transport, and Web hosting services as well as bundled voice and Internet solutions. XO provides these services over an advanced, nationwide facilities-based IP network and serves 75 metropolitan markets across the United States. For more information, visit www.xo.com.
About Nextlink
Nextlink, a subsidiary of XO Holdings, Inc., is a leading provider of broadband wireless services to the enterprise, fixed and mobile communications and government markets. As one of the nation’s largest holders of fixed wireless spectrum, Nextlink delivers high-quality, carrier-grade wireless access solutions that scale to meet the demands of today’s converged world of communications – su pporting next-generation mobile and wireline voice, data and video applications. For additional information, visit www.nextlink.com.
For more information contact:
Chad Couser / XO Communications
703-547-2746
chad.couser@xo.com
