Broadwing Invests $44 Million in Component Maker

Broadwing
Inc.
, is expecting a big payoff from its $44 million investment with
optical transmission component maker Corvis Corp. announced Friday.

The investment gives Broadwing a partner who can provide
switching and signal regenerating equipment necessary for its nationwide
and international all-optical network deployment.

Rick Ellenberger, Broadwing president and chief executive officer, said the
investment is money well spent.

“The future is all about optical and, as the only national communications
provider to deploy a fully optical network, Broadwing will be the leader in
this new optical world,” Ellenberger said. “Corvis technology helps us
fulfill the promise of an all-optical network and allows us to stay at the
forefront of the technology that will soon bring immense benefits to our
customers and shareholders.”

Broadwing has spent the past three months exercising its right to purchase
eight million shares of Corvis stock, which went public
July 28. Because federal regulations forbid company officials from talking about its
status for 25 days, Corvis was not able to comment on the Broadwing, or any
other, investments.

Before purchasing the stocks, Broadwing purchased $200 million in optical
networking equipment from Corvis. Broadwing prides itself on investing in
the technology as well as the company.

As the promise of an all-optical network gains momentum, more and more
companies are signing deals with the company to get access to its backbone.

Zydeco Energy, Inc. subsidiary DataVoN, Inc. tapped
Broadwing as its network provider July 27 in preparation for its national
voice over IP rollout. National Internet service provider Multacom penned a deal with the company
July 24 to provision an OC-3 line for three years at $7.5 million.

Broadwing isn’t discounting the innovations by other companies in the
network routing field. In June, the carrier signed a deal with Lucent Technologies, Inc.,
to be the first to use the Lucent 7 R/E Now Distinctive Remote Module. The
module allows Broadwing to offer local voice and data services from its
headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, to cities as far as 2,000 miles away.

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