12/5/00
XO Completes Consecutive Point Broadband Wireless Tests
Consecutive point fixed wireless technology to further extend XO metro fiber networks and provide high bandwidth, redundant connections to the last mile
Reston, VA and Orlando, FL - XO Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:XOXO), one of the world’s fastest growing providers of broadband communications services, formerly known as NEXTLINK/Concentric, announced today it successfully completed fixed wireless equipment field trials, and has selected Triton Network Systems™ (NASDAQ:TNSI) as a non-exclusive provider of broadband point-to-consecutive point fixed wireless equipment in the United States.
During several months of field trials in Boston, XO utilized broadband point-to-consecutive point wireless technology to “extend” its local fiber networks to selected customers and provide redundant, high bandwidth backhaul solutions at OC-3 levels and above. The company plans to begin deploying point-to-consecutive point equipment in its U.S. metro networks as another means to meet customer and networking needs.
“During tests in Boston, Triton Network Systems’ Invisible Fiber® Units (IFUs) were utilized as a redundant, backhaul access solution for point-to-multipoint fixed wireless extensions to the customer premise,” said Doug Carter, XO senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Consecutive point technology is designed to provide XO with an efficient alternative to offer the bandwidth our customers require while enabling us to extend the reach of our metro fiber networks.”
The consecutive-point technology’s SONET-compatible architecture offers additional advantages to XO because it also integrates with open protocol edge devices including add/drop multiplexing (ADM) equipment, allowing XO to extend protected network distribution points from its metro fiber rings for very high-bandwidth, “last mile” capabilities such as T1, DS3, OC-3, and Ethernet (10Mbps, 100Mbps and 1Gbps) services.
The Boston market test also highlighted other strengths of using fixed wireless technology in conjunction with fiber networks. Customers participating in the test experienced improved service provisioning intervals, particularly at a time when the area was slowed by an incumbent phone carrier work stoppage. Additionally, XO was also able to extend “fiber-like” connectivity to several buildings, despite a current fiber construction moratorium in place in the Boston area.
“We were very interested in the broadband service capabilities XO offered our business,” said Dave Soble, Network Manager for Vacation.com. “By using their fixed wireless technology, we were able to receive broadband services faster than we thought was possible, especially given the incumbent phone company strike that was then in place in Boston. During the time we’ve been an XO customer, we’ve been pleased with the reliable service delivered.”
During the tests XO used Triton Network Systems’ Invisible Fiber Units and has since selected Triton as a non-exclusive provider of broadband wireless equipment for XO in the United States. XO has executed a supply agreement with Triton Network Systems and is preparing its first order for broadband wireless equipment. Additionally, XO is evaluating future equipment requirements to enhance its networks.
“Teaming with another major broadband wireless license holder proves our commitment to this industry,” said Skip Speaks, president and chief executive officer of Triton Network Systems. “Our IFUs will allow XO Communications to reach and serve more customers from its own facilities, further reducing its dependence on incumbent operators.”
In recent company news, XO announced it was provisionally awarded three fixed wireless spectrum licenses covering 17.6 million POPs in the U.K., in areas that include the Greater London, Greater Manchester and Birmingham / West Midlands Regions. The licenses cover spectrum located in the 28 GHz spectrum band which is similar to broadband fixed wireless spectrum licensed to XO and its affiliates in the United States and Canada. As a result, it is expected that XO will be able to use wireless network equipment and technology that is similar to that being deployed in North America to extend its metro networks in the United Kingdom.
XO has deployed fixed wireless network access solutions in 17 markets including New York, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Newark, Philadelphia, Columbus, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Los Angeles, Orange County, Sacramento, San Francisco and Seattle. The company expects to have broadband wireless capabilities deployed in 25 markets by the end of this year.
About Triton Network Systems
Triton Network Systems™ is a provider of broadband fixed wireless network products. The company's Invisible Fiber® high bandwidth broadband wireless network product line covers the 38 GHz, Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) and Local Multipoint Communication Systems (LMCS) markets, with functionality designed to fiber optic specifications. Triton Network Systems' broadband fixed wireless Invisible Fiber SONET/SDH and Invisible Fiber Internet products are designed to be deployed in self-healing route-diverse consecutive point networks, providing complete telephony, data and Internet network solutions. The Company produces products that help make possible the success of broadband fixed wireless in the telephony and data marketplace, and enables the evolution of the Internet by delivering high-speed connections to businesses using and developing both e-commerce and up-and-coming applications for the Internet. Triton Network Systems is traded publicly on the NASDAQ under ticker symbol TNSI. For more information, visit the Web site at www.triton-network.com.
About XO Communications
XO Communications is one of the world’s leading providers of broadband communications services offering local and long distance voice communication services, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) access, Web hosting and e-commerce service, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), dedicated access, global transit and application infrastructure services for delivering applications over the Internet or a VPN.
XO has assembled an unrivaled set of facilities-based broadband networks and Tier One Internet peering relationships that, when complete, will serve much of the United States, Canada and Europe. In the United States, XO has more than 570,000 metro and inter-city fiber miles in operation. The Company is also North America’s largest holder of fixed broadband wireless spectrum, with licenses covering 95 percent of the population of the 30 largest U.S. cities and a partnership with licenses covering all of the top cities in Canada. XO has also acquired metro fiber networks and conduits being constructed in Europe that, when complete, will serve London, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris markets and an 88,000 fiber-mile pan-European fiber network connecting 21 major European cities and transatlantic capacity that will eventually expand to 10 Gbps.
For more information contact:
Scott Pace / XO™ Communications
Media and Industry Analysts
703-547-2018
Lisa Miles / XO™ Communications
Financial Analysts
703-547-2440
David Matthews / for Triton Network Systems
972-480-9980 Ext. 157
dmatthews@springbok.com
