Qwest Extends Fiber-Optic Internet Network Into Southern France and Spain

The Qwest Communications International Inc. (Denver) European joint venture KPNQwest plans to invest up to $305 million to construct a seventh high-capacity fiber-optic network ring. Work on the new Iberian Ring, which will link seven additional cities in Southern France and Spain into KPNQwest's pan-European and Qwest's North American networks, will start mid-2000. The 2,500-mile Iberian Ring brings the total size of KPNQwest's European network to approximately 11,800 miles.

The new ring will link Lyons, Marseilles, Bordeaux, and Toulouse, France and Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, and Bilbao, Spain. At Lyons, the ring joins seamlessly with KPNQwest's Southern EuroRing and reaches the 39 other European business centers served by KPNQwest's EuroRings network. The addition of the Iberian Ring brings the total number of EuroRings completed or under construction to seven, covering a total of 46 European business centers.

Construction of the routes for the 96-strand hybrid fiber-optic cable is scheduled to be completed and ready for service by fall 2001. The company already has significant customer interest in the newly announced extension to the EuroRings network.

Edited by Kristin Keiser