FCI CONNECTS SWEDEN AND DENMARK WITH NEW SUBMARINE CABLE

FCI CONNECTS SWEDEN AND DENMARK WITH NEW SUBMARINE CABLE Washington, April 7 (TTNN) - FaciliCom International (FCI) today announced that it has completed deploying the new FCI-One submarine cable across the Oresund between Denmark and Sweden. The cable boosts connectivity in the region and significantly alters the competitive landscape throughout Scandinavia. The FCI-One cable provides FaciliCom with the capability to provide seamless transmissions entirely over its own facilities in the region. The 48- strand fiber optic cable features state-of-the-art multi-fiber technology and provides transmission speeds up to 2480 Mbps. With the inclusion of Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) equipment, the FCI-One cable has the capability to transmit more than twelve million simultaneous calls. The cable builds upon one of the most advanced and sophisticated network infrastructures in Scandinavia, which includes Nortel DMS-GSP international gateway switching facilities in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and a Standard-B satellite earth station in Sweden. FCI also owns and operates two public telephone operators (PTOs) in the region. "FCI has emerged as one of the predominant players in Scandinavia," said Walt Burmeister, president of FaciliCom. "FCI-One provides carriers numerous advantages, including lower cost and higher quality connectivity that incumbent carriers will find difficult to match." From Drawing Board to Deployment in Five Months FCI completed the FCI-One cable deployment from start to finish in just five months, despite harsh winter weather that threatened to delay completion of the project. The project was initially planned in October 1998. The deployment's toughest hurdle occurred in early February 1999, when the water crossing encountered thick ice, which threatened to halt the laying of the cable on the sea floor. Through the use of special ice-breaking equipment and an elongated buoy system that held the cable in place along its designated route, the project moved forward on schedule. The manufacturing and laying of the cable was contracted to Tele Danmark Consultants and Tele Danmark Marine in October 1998 and laying of the cable from its landing point in Sweden to its landing point at Broendby Strand (Denmark) began in mid December. FaciliCom International (FCI) is a member of the Armstrong Group of Companies, which is headquartered in Butler, Pennsylvania. Armstrong is a diversified, privately held group of companies that own and operate cable television systems, independent telephone companies, international telecommunications companies, real estate companies, a residential and commercial security company and various other businesses. FaciliCom is based in Washington, DC. The FCI Web site can be accessed at: http://www.facilicom.com. Contact: Jeff Guzy or Ed Remington of FCI, tel Washington +1 202-496-1100 Web site: http://www.facilicom.com