HAMILTON, Bermuda-Jan. 21, 2000--Global Crossing (Nasdaq: GBLX) is the world's first carrier to provide IP connectivity via an optical wavelength link, interfacing atOC-48c / STM16c; will carry commercial traffic between London andNew York on 2.5 gigabit per second.

• Expands Global Crossing's capabilities for underseahigh-performance, high-capacity traffic.
• Seamlessly merges European and North American networks for concurrent applications such as Web hosting, contentdistribution, high-speed Internet, and video on demand.

Global Crossing, which is building and operating the world's mostadvanced global IP-based fiber optic network, announced today that ithas successfully launched the world's first transatlantic IPconnection via an optical wavelength link, interfacing at OC-48c /STM16. The connection is capable of carrying commercial traffic at 2.5gigabit per second (Gbps) between New York and London.

This link enables a new level in high speed Internet servicesbetween North America and Europe. Global Crossing's transatlanticsystem, Atlantic Crossing 1, is a high-capacity, fiber optic systemlinking the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands andGermany. Atlantic Crossing 1 uses advanced wavelength divisionmultiplexing (WDM) technology to meet the extraordinary capacitydemands that have developed in the high-volume North Atlanticcorridor.

The new transoceanic capability announced today is the result ofGlobal Crossing's experience in streamlining and simplifyinghigh-speed terrestrial Internet-protocol systems in North America. TheOC-48c is a high-speed circuit that will allow North American andEuropean systems to operate as a seamless network, equivalent in speedand volume to current U.S. land-based networks. Global Crossingcurrently operates its US Internet backbone at OC-48c (2.5 Gbps) andOC-192 (10 Gbps) speeds.

Global Crossing's transatlantic link uses Cisco Systems'industry-leading gigabit routing platform, the 12000 Series GigabitSwitch Router, which permits transoceanic customers for the first timeto access IP transit services at a speed of 2.5 Gbps.

The Cisco 12000 Series Gigabit Series Router is a premier routingplatform delivering scalable bandwidth and performance, and supportinga breadth of network services through its robust Internet provencontrol plane and low latency architecture. The Cisco 12016 SeriesRouter, as a component in the 12000 Series Terabit System, supportsscalability from 320Gbps to 5 Terabits and provides a breadth ofinterfaces from DS3 to its high performance OC48/STM16. The 12000Series' support of Multicast, Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS),and IP CoS, enables greater support of services ranging from VPNs,real time services, to content services. In addition the 12000 Series'low latency switching architecture ensures SLA integrity.

"Our customers have a growing need for large scale IPconnectivity between continents to seamlessly operate theirapplications, such as Web hosting, high-speed Internet access, contentdistribution, and video on demand," said John Longo, vice president,product management of Global Crossing's Data Services. "GlobalCrossing is aggressively rolling out advanced IP network servicesaround the world on a scale customers haven't seen before. Theintroduction of this 2.5 Gbps wavelength link across the AtlanticOcean, along with our state-of-the-art network data center in Londonmeans unmatched access speeds for customers across our globalnetwork."

"Global Crossing's deployment of this new generation of robustCisco router technology enables it to ensure long-term networkscalability, reliability and speed for its users," said Graeme Fraser,vice president and general manager of Cisco's Optical InternetworkingBusiness Unit. "Global Crossing has risen to the challenge of handlingmore and more converged traffic on the network, plus meeting userdemand for new applications and services. Cisco is pleased to helpGlobal Crossing meet these challenges in a fast, quality-drivenenvironment. The worldwide Global Crossing Network is a wonderfulcommunications advance, and we are pleased to see our establishedrelationship with Global Crossing expanding in this way."