Williams Communications Group Inc., a year ahead in its U.S. inter-city
network deployment, quickly penned an agreement Monday with colo.com for
data center space in cities throughout the U.S.
The agreement marks the first of several planned deals between the backbone
provider and facilities-based colocation companies.
By the end of 2000 the company expects to connect 125 cities over 33,000
route miles, prompting the backbone provider’s search for colocation
facilities. The agreement lets Williams continue and expand on its
provision and service of fiber optic lines in Tier 1 and 2 cities in the
U.S. including Dallas, Chicago, Boston and Seattle.
Brent Bomer, Williams senior manager of product marketing for IP and access
services, said the agreement helps both companies achieve their business
plans.
“We’re going to where our customers want us to go,” Bomer said. “Colo.com
built its facilities in areas where there was a high demand for the
services we both provide. We helped validate their business plan, by
proving they are carrier-neutral.
“We’ve contacted many companies a year ago and have been picking the
best-of-breed companies,” Bomer continued. “Colo.com was at the top of
that list and we plan on making more announcements in the coming
weeks. This doesn’t mean a shift in our strategy to only provide network
services to large carriers, but expand on our existing strategy.”
The backbone provider provides network services exclusively to carriers
like SBC Communications and UUNet. The Tulsa, OK-based company is also
constructing a network that will connect the U.S. to Asia and the U.S. to
Europe.
Colo.com is a carrier-neutral colocation company that caters to competitive
local exchange carriers, long-distance phone companies, Internet service
providers and dot com businesses.
JoeTurcotte, Willams network unit senior vice president of IP and access
services, said the agreement gives his company deeper penetration into tier
one and two markets.
“The additional facilities will complement our current data centers by
giving us an additional vehicle to drive more traffic onto our
award-winning network,” Turcotte said. “This agreement is fundamental to
our local access strategy and is in direct response to our customers’ needs
for ready local access to our carrier-focused global network. The last
mile to our customers is crucial as we complete the largest next-generation
network in the United States and prepare to link that network with
international gateways.”
