SAN JOSE, Calif., June 19, 2001 Cisco Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, announced today that General Communication, Inc. (GCI), Alaska's premier integrated telecommunications company, is deploying the Cisco ONS 15327 Metro Edge Optical Transport Platform to extend its high-capacity optical transport network, currently based on the industry leading Cisco ONS 15454 Optical Transport Platform.
GCI, which introduced competition to the Alaskan market more than 15 years ago, has evolved into the state's premier integrated communications service provider and Alaska's largest Internet Service Provider. In addition to highly reliable, high-speed Internet, GCI's services include local and long distance, private line, PCS, and video. GCI has an extensive fiber optic network that connects the Alaska population to the contiguous United States.
"The Cisco ONS 15327 really gives us the ability to efficiently grow our network and reach additional customers with higher bandwidth services at a much lower cost, offering four times the bandwidth for the same dollar," said Shawn Fitzpatrick, Manager of Transport Engineering for GCI. "The ONS 15327 extends our advanced optical transport network, built on the ONS 15454, to the metro edge and speeds deployment of new high-value services to increase our revenues."
With over 600 customers and 25,000 systems deployed, the ONS 15454 is the most rapidly accepted metro optical transport platform in the industry. The system delivers radical economics to today's service providers through flexible, supercharged SONET/SDH transport, integrated optical networking with ITU Grid Wavelengths and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM), and unprecedented multiservice interfaces including new high-density OC-12 and line rate Gigabit Ethernet service interface cards. Additionally, earlier this month Cisco announced OC-192 capabilities for the ONS 15454, further expanding its multiservice scalability. The Cisco ONS 15327, the first metro edge optical transport platform, brings these multiservice benefits to the edge of the metro network in the industry's smallest footprint. With over 50 customers since the product's introduction, the ONS 15327 is already the leader in its class. The ONS 15454 and ONS 15327 are part of Cisco's unrivaled IP+Optical product portfolio, combining the capacity of optics with the intelligence of IP to cost effectively deliver next generation voice and data services.
"GCI is utilizing optical networking to address customer needs with a range of high-quality services that are competitively priced," said Robert Koslowsky, Director of Marketing, Optical Transport, at Cisco Systems. "We're proud they've added the ONS 15327 to their roster of Cisco's leading optical transport solutions to maximize its profitable economic benefits while extending high quality of service to customers at the edge of their metro networks."
About GCI
GCI (Nasdaq: GNCMA) is an Alaska-based integrated communications provider that delivers voice, video, and data services through its fiber optic, satellite, hybrid fiber coaxial and metropolitan network facilities. More information about GCI can be found at www.gci.com
About Cisco IP+Optical Solutions
Cisco is the first company to deliver scalable IP+Optical networking solutions for today's services-driven marketplace. Cisco's IP+Optical strategy builds on Cisco's leadership in IP routing, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), optical networking technology and content/services intelligence. Cisco is uniquely positioned to enable service providers to reduce operational costs and increase service velocity, bringing immediate benefits today while empowering them to deploy a new generation of highly competitive New World services.
