GTE to Offer Ultra-Fast Internet Access
Nation's Largest Deployment of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) Service to Roll Out in Two Phases Starting this June in Current Market Trial Locations
Fujitsu Network Communications Selected as Supplier of High-Speed Internet Access Equipment
April 27, 1998
GTE today announced that it will begin offering consumers, businesses, universities and Internet service providers "always-on" high-speed Internet access and remote office connectivity service that helps boost connection speeds to the Internet at rates up to 50 times faster than conventional modems.
Beginning in June, upon regulatory approval, GTE Network Services, the incumbent local exchange carrier unit of GTE Corp., will offer network-based asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) service in approximately 300 central offices in portions of 16 states, creating the nation's largest deployment of ADSL. To provide the service, GTE will install ADSL equipment supplied by Richardson, Texas-based Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. and digital subscriber line partner Orckit Communications Ltd.
In the first of two phases, GTE will convert its current ADSL trials into broad-market deployment, enabling customers in portions of Beaverton, Ore., Durham, N.C., West Lafayette, Ind., and Redmond and Kirkland, Wash., to access the World Wide Web at speeds up to 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps). During the second half of the year, GTE plans to offer ADSL service in no less than 30 additional market clusters in California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. (Editor's Note: See attached list of markets)
"Since launching the industry's first data-oriented ADSL trial, we have strived to develop a simple, friendly and affordable way to revolutionize the way our customers communicate," GTE President Kent B. Foster said. "This new service offering gives Internet users at work, home and school a competitive edge, and paves the way for increased productivity, and vastly improved performance compared to lower-speed modems."
The deployment of ADSL, said Foster, helps enable GTE to offer end-to-end Internet solutions on a broader scale, and is in keeping with the company's overall goal to become a national provider of integrated telecommunications services.
By the end of the year, GTE's central offices in parts of 16 states will be equipped to offer high-speed digital connections to the Internet over existing telephone lines. The availability and timing of ADSL service in each state will be dependent upon local market conditions, and will not be offered ubiquitously.
The network efficiency of ADSL
ADSL works by connecting a pair of modems to
each end of a telephone line, with one modem located in the telephone company's
central office and the other at the customer's premises, providing a continuous
Internet access rather than traditional dial-up modem connections.
With ADSL, consumers can simultaneously surf the World Wide Web and place telephone calls over the same line. Compared to cable modems, ADSL offers greater flexibility when choosing Internet service providers and network connectivity alternatives. ADSL also delivers dedicated bandwidth from the central office to individual users at their homes or offices unlike cable modems that provide shared bandwidth among a group of users over the same path. Further, GTE has a track record of network reliability which provides an additional advantage to customers interested in higher bandwidth services.
Fujitsu Network Communications selected as ADSL equipment provider
In the
central offices where service will be offered, GTE will install Fujitsu's SPEEDPORTTM
equipment, developed with its partner Orckit (NASDAQ: ORCTF). In addition, Fujitsu-supplied
Orckit modems will be installed on customer premises, providing high-speed Internet
and remote access.
"As the leading supplier of fiber-optic transport solutions to local exchange carriers in North America, Fujitsu is very excited about entering the high-speed access market with an innovative service provider like GTE," said George Chase, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Fujitsu Network Communications. "Our SPEEDPORT ADSL system will provide the flexible service solutions that GTE and its customers need to make the most of high-speed Internet access for residential and commercial applications."
An information highway lined with green lights
"Our trial participants have
told us loud and clear that their increased need for information requires greater
bandwidth and speed. With ADSL, their information highway will be lined with green
lights, and they can confidently put their interactive pedal all the way down to
the floorboard," said John Appel, president-GTE Network Services. "Our world is
becoming more and more digital, and voice, video and data services are converging
into a single ubiquitous network. ADSL becomes the 'last mile' or local loop enabler
that helps deliver a new realm of multimedia content and enhanced Internet protocol
services to customers."
Pending regulatory approval, GTE plans to offer several ADSL service packages featuring various transmission speeds ranging from 256 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps). For comparison, a 2 1/2-minute movie clip of Superman (8.8 megabytes) would take 35 minutes to download using a 33.6 kbps modem, yet less than 47 seconds using a 1.5 Mbps ADSL modem. Likewise, an initial downloading of a 50 megabyte interactive game would painstakingly take three hours and 18 minutes with a 33.6 kbps modem, but just 4 1/2 minutes with a 1.5 Mbps connection.
GTE to offer five ADSL service packages
GTE will offer customers month-to-month,
multi-year term and volume discount plans with a target monthly price range of $30
to $250, excluding one-time installation, Internet service charges and modem lease.
A modem lease rate of about $12 per month is expected, plus a one-time installation
fee of $60 or $140, dependent upon whether or not a modem and inside wire are installed
at the customer's premises.
The five service packages, excluding Internet service and modem rental, are:
GTE also plans to offer customers high-speed ADSL with Internet access service, for approximately $60 a month through a relationship with GTE Internetworking, the Internet unit of GTE Corp. The company also intends to develop high-speed ADSL and Internet access service packages with other Internet service providers.
SPEEDPORT™ system uses industry-standard DMT technology
The SPEEDPORT system,
with its core DSL technology provided by Fujitsu partner Orckit, consists of modems
that will be installed at the customer's home or office, as well as high-powered
equipment, known as DSL access multiplexers, to be placed at GTE central office
sites. These DSL access multiplexers enable GTE to provide DSL service to a large
number of customers at one time by concentrating the customers' data traffic over
DS1 lines initially, providing for transparent upgrades to higher-speed backbone
facilities as traffic demand warrants.
The SPEEDPORT system uses industry-standard DMT (Discrete Multi-tone) technology. It transmits data using the ethernet IP protocol, and is ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) capable.
GTE's current ADSL market trials in Redmond and Kirkland, Wash., West Lafayette, Ind., Durham, N. C. and Beaverton, Ore. involve more than 1,300 users, including some 1,000-plus Microsoft employees, a small number of Intel employees in Oregon, plus students, faculty and scientists at Duke University Medical Center and Purdue University.
GTE, Fujitsu and Orckit are members of the Universal ADSL Working Group (UAWG), a consortium comprised of industry leading PC manufacturers, telecommunications providers and data networking companies, which earlier this year announced plans to develop a universal and interoperable ADSL standard to spur its deployment to the mass market.
# # #
About GTE
With 1997 revenues of more than $23 billion, GTE is one of the
world's largest telecommunications companies and a leading provider of integrated
telecommunications services. In the United States, GTE provides local service in
28 states and wireless service in 17 states; nationwide long-distance service and
internetworking services ranging from dial-up Internet access for residential and
small business consumers to Web-based applications for Fortune 500 companies; as
well as video service in selected markets. Additional information about GTE can
be found on the Internet at http://www.gte.com.
About Fujitsu
Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., designs and manufactures
fiber-optic transmission and broadband switching platforms and develops software
that allows customers to perform in-service management and monitoring of the telephone
network. 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, a $36
billion global technology leader in computers, communications and microelectronics.
Product information is available by calling 800-777-FAST. Its World Wide Web site
is at http://www.fnc.fujitsu.com.
SPEEDPORT™ is a trademark of Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc.
About Orckit
Orckit Communications Ltd. is a leader in digital subscriber
line solutions. Orckit has both core silicon expertise and a wide range of DSL systems
and products, including DSLAM systems with ADSL and SDSL, and its HDSL and VDSL
product lines. Orckit has alliances with several leading semiconductor companies
and telecom equipment providers. For more information, visit Orckit's web site at
http://www.orckit.com.
Markets Where GTE Plans To Offer Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
Service In 1998:
California: Availability begins in June Long Beach, Norwalk, Ontario, Palm Springs, Redondo, San Bernardino, San Fernando, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, Victorville
Florida: Availability begins in June Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Tampa
Hawaii: Availability begins in June Hilo, Oahu
Illinois: Availability begins in June Bloomington (Illinois State University), Carbondale (Southern Illinois University), Dekalb (Northern Illinois University)
Indiana: Availability begins in June Elkhart, Fort Wayne, Jasper, West Lafayette (Purdue Univ.), North Vernon, Terre Haute (Indiana St. University), Valparaiso
Kentucky: Availability begins in June Lexington (University of Kentucky)
Michigan: Availability begins in July Mount Pleasant (Central Michigan University), Muskegon
Missouri: Availability begins in October Columbia (University of Missouri)
North Carolina: Availability begins in June Durham (Duke University)
Ohio: Availability begins in July Athens (Ohio University), Bowling Green (BG University), Norwalk
Oregon: Availability begins in June Beaverton
Pennsylvania: Availability begins in September Erie, Hershey, York
Texas: Availability begins in June Carrollton, College Station (Texas A&M; University), Denton, Garland, Grapevine, Irving, Lewisville, Plano, San Angelo, Texarkana
Virginia: Availability begins in July Dahlgren, Dale City, Harrisonburg (James Madison University)
Washington: Availability begins in June Bothell, Everett, Kennewick, Kirkland, Pullman (Washington State University), Redmond, Sammamish
Wisconsin: Availability begins in September Wausau