Sierra Pacific Communications and Touch America to Build 750-Mile, High-Speed, Fiber-Optic Network Between Salt Lake City and Sacramento
Under terms of the agreement, Sierra Touch America also will assume part interest in the metropolitan fiber networks SPC has in Reno and Las Vegas. Customers served by the local networks will have the opportunity to access and receive information directly from Touch America's nationwide, state-of-the-art, broadband fiber-optic network.
Construction of the high-fiber count, multiple-duct Salt Lake City-Sacramento route is expected to commence immediately and to be completed by the summer of 2001. The estimated cost of the project is $100 million. The Salt Lake City-Sacramento market demand is increasing due to the growth of business-to-business transactions via the Internet, explained Steve Oldham, vice president of corporate development and strategic planning for Sierra Pacific Resources.
"We are delighted to partner with Sierra Pacific to develop a key link for Touch America's national broadband fiber-optic network," said Mike Meldahl, Touch America's president. "This partnership follows our strategy to join with strong, well-positioned regional companies to develop broadband telecommunications services in data, voice and image transmission for growing cities throughout the country. Las Vegas and Reno fit this description," he added.
According to Meldahl, partnerships like these that leverage regional infrastructure and marketing expertise with Touch America's national fiber backbone allow the companies to remain low cost providers of fast, secure and reliable telecom network services while increasing the value of the individual companies' communications assets.
Meldahl also said the Sacramento-Salt Lake City route has other benefits, as it connects Touch America's Portland to Los Angeles inland segment that passes through Boise, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas with Touch America's Portland-Los Angeles coastal route that passes through Sacramento and San Francisco.
"It's important to have fiber-optic routes connect to form rings," he said. "These will become SONET, or synchronous optical network rings, providing greater reliability through a self healing system if the network is accidentally cut or fails," Meldahl said. "With SONET architecture, traffic can be rerouted instantly in another direction, undetected by customers."
SPC has completed installation of a fiber-optic ring around Reno and expects to complete a similar "metro ring" around Las Vegas by the fall of 2000. Touch America has a 14,000-mile fiber-optic network that will reach 26,000 miles by year-end 2001.
SPC's 30-mile, fiber-optic ring around Reno has four "central offices" or hubs operated by Nevada Bell that provide interconnections to the local exchange carrier and other long-haul carriers. The 70-mile ring around Las Vegas will be connected to seven central offices operated by Sprint.
"Our goal is to provide an alternative path for high-speed communications at a highly competitive cost in one of America's fastest growing markets," Oldham said. "We're excited about partnering with Touch America because it is one of the nation's premier telecommunications companies."
Edited by John McKnight