TULSA, Okla. (March 21, 1995)-- WilTel, a wholly owned subsidiary of LDDS Communications, is the first interexchange carrier to offer customer availability of frame relay network-to-network interfaces (NNI) in 21 major U.S. cities.
With NNI connectivity, users can use Local Exchange Carrier's (LEC) frame relay network to access WilTel's public frame relay network, called WilPak Frame Relay, rather than only accessing WilPak via dedicated local access. NNI connectivity with WilTel is available in the following Local Access Transport Areas (LATA). These cities were selected based on their high frame relay activity.
| LATA | LEC |
| Denver; Seattle; Phoenix, Ariz.; Minneapolis | U S West |
| Pittsburgh; Philadelphia; Washington D.C.; Newark, N.J.; Baltimore | Bell Atlantic |
| Atlanta, Miami | BellSouth |
| Los Angeles, San Francisco | Pacific Bell |
| Tampa, Fla. | GTE |
| New York City, Boston | NYNEX |
| Hartford, Conn. | Southern New England Telephone |
| Kansas City, Mo.;St. Louis; Dallas; Houston | Southwestern Bell |
WilTel has implemented 1.536M public NNI connections between WilPak frame relay and the LECsO frame relay networks. The physical NNI connections are composed of a WilPak NNI port, a non-channelized T1 private line and a LEC NNI port. Customers have the option of ordering public NNI connections where costs are shared by multiple users, or private NNI connections. Private NNI connections are non-shared and usually cost effective for larger bandwidth requirements.
Beginning March 21, customers can order PVCs over public or private NNI connections in 21 LATAs. Service is available within 45 days of receiving an order. "Connectivity within these LATAs is the beginning of WilTel's efforts to establish end-to-end network interconnection frame relay services for users," said Emily Hansen, product manager for WilTel. WilTel plans to provide single point of contact for both LEC frame relay access and WilPak frame relay during the second quarter of 1995.
WilTel is a full-service telecommunications company that offers domestic and international data, voice and video products and services to carriers and large business customers. WilTel operates a nationwide digital fiber-optic network for its parents company, LDDS, which is one of the four largest U.S.-based long-distance carriers. The shares of LDDS Communications Inc. trade on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol LDDS.