FAIRFAX, VA, (March 12, 1997) --
UUNET Technologies, Inc., the world's largest provider of
Internet services and an operating subsidiary of WorldCom, Inc.
(NASDAQ:WCOM), today announced the deployment schedule for its new
Preferred Access service, a dedicated Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
service that delivers leased line performance for Internet access at
about half the price of a fractional T1.
UUNET is the first Internet Service Provider to make this type of
service commercially available nationwide. The new service will
address the needs of LAN users in small businesses or branch offices
of large corporations by providing a cost-effective, dedicated
Internet connection for mission critical applications. Preferred
Access, initially based on UUNET's IDSL technology, allows an
ISDN router to connect to the Internet with the application
flexibility and stability of a leased T1 line.
While traditional ISDN and analog dial-up Internet access can
support web browsing and email use, they are not designed to support
Internet applications which require full-time, dedicated access. Such
applications include remote LAN access and web hosting. IDSL, on the
other hand, supports the full array of Internet applications. Another
benefit of the IDSL technology is that the connection can be
monitored end-to-end. This means higher reliability with proactive
troubleshooting by UUNET, as well as the ability to gather traffic
statistics to help small companies plan for growth.
"The innovative approach of UUNET and WorldCom, along with
telecommunication deregulation, are making leased line performance
and flexibility available at a substantially lower cost," said
Alan Taffel, vice president of marketing and business development at
UUNET. "Preferred Access 128 provides real value to the
end-user; the connection uses a simple data-grade copper loop,
bypasses switched voice networks, and avoids the congestion and
limitations that have plagued many dial and ISDN Internet
connections."
The IDSL service will be supported in 117 cities throughout the
US. Deployment will occur in stages. The first phase of deployment
has already begun in Northern California. Over the next 90 days there
will be a total of 25 cities throughout the State of California
placed into service. During the third quarter of this year an
additional 92 cities across the country will launch the IDSL service.
Additional cities will be deployed thereafter.
Preferred Access will give small businesses an uncomplicated
upgrade path to higher bandwidth. Initially UUNET will offer
Preferred Access 128, a dedicated, monitorable service which supports
data transmission at 128 Kbps. In the future, UUNET will also offer
Preferred Access 768, based on HDSL technology, offering
bi-directional 768 Kbps bandwidth. By changing only the customer
premise router, qualified companies can move to the higher bandwidth
service.
IDSL is priced at $750 per month with a one year term commitment.
The service includes DNS registration, 20 POP e-mail accounts, and
5NNTP news readers. Local access will range from $150 to $225 per
month depending on geographic location. As with all UUNET
connections, Preferred Access 128 receives monitoring, proactive,
troubleshooting, and UUNET's business-class customer support 24
hours a day, seven days a week]. Installation coordination, including
local loop provisioning, are handled by UUNET.
Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., UUNET Technologies, Inc. is the
world's largest provider of Internet services, offering a
comprehensive range of access options, World Wide Web hosting
services, security products and consulting services to businesses,
professionals, and on-line service providers. The company's
network is comprised of Points of Presence (POPs) throughout the
United States and in Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, as
well as connections to Internet service providers around the world.
Founded in 1987, UUNET is recognized as the first commercial Internet
service provider. UUNET is a subsidiary of WorldCom, Inc.
(Nasdaq:WCOM). UUNET's World Wide Web address is
http://www.uu.net
.
WorldCom is a global business telecommunications company.
Operating in more than 50 countries, the company is a premier
provider of facilities-based and fully integrated local, long
distance, international and Internet services. WorldCom subsidiary,
UUNET Technologies, Inc., is the world's largest provider of
Internet services. WorldCom's World Wide Web address is:
http://www.wcom.com. The common and depositary shares of WorldCom
trade on the Nasdaq National Market (U.S.) under the symbol WCOM and
WCOMP, respectively.
