Verizon Deploys Fiber Optics, Network Systems To Expand, Improve Service in Capital District

ALBANY, N.Y. - Verizon Communications is investing nearly $1.2 million to modernize and expand its local telecommunications network in the Capital District.

Verizon is installing more than 800 miles of fiber-optic cable and electronic equipment in Rensselaer, Saratoga and Warren counties. Fiber-optic systems use hair-thin glass strands and digital technology to deliver high quality telephone services along with high-capacity/high-speed voice and data services.

About 740 miles of fiber will expand network capacity between the City of Troy and North Greenbush and between North Greenbush and Averill Park in Rensselaer County. Replacing older copper wires with the fiber-optic cable, along with the installation of new line-connection equipment, also will expand and improve network connections in the Rensselaer County town of Poestenkill.

More than 50 miles of fiber will be installed west of the City of Saratoga Springs to accommodate network expansion and upgrade service to the Locust Grove area. An additional 32 miles of fiber will be deployed between the City of Glens Falls and a new-development area of the Town of Queensbury in Warren County to expand and improve service there.

A synchronous optical network (SONET) ring will be expanded to a business development in North Greenbush to provide high-speed data connections and increased network reliability to that development.

Work on the various projects is expected to be completed later this year.

''These projects demonstrate that Verizon is committed to delivering state-of-the-art telecommunications services throughout the Capital District,'' said Paul A. Crotty, president of Verizon New York. ''We are expanding capacity and upgrading our network to accommodate the growing demand for high-speed data and Internet connections over the Verizon network, in addition to bringing innovative advanced services to our customers.''

Crotty said Verizon has made major strides in deploying advanced technology in its New York network:

• Annual spending on Verizon's New York network topped $2 billion in 2000. The company's investments since 1995 now total more than $10.2 billion.
  
• Miles of fiber-optic cable in New York state increased to more than 1.2 million in 2000, up from about 715,000 in 1995.
  
• All 586 call-routing centers throughout the state use the latest digital technology systems.
  
• Verizon Online DSL (digital subscriber line) service was launched in New York in the summer of 1999. DSL is a high-speed connection to the Internet that enables users to connect to cyberspace at speeds significantly faster than today's fastest analog modems. Today, Verizon has more than 720,000 DSL lines in service nationwide.

''Verizon is keeping its commitment to New York,'' Crotty said. ''We are building and enhancing a public telecommunications network that is the finest in the world and is a vital part of the empire state's economic infrastructure.''

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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with 112 million access line equivalents and 27 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the largest directory publisher in the world. A Fortune 10 company with approximately 260,000 employees and more than $65 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com