Broadwing Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Broadwing Inc. (NYSE: BRW), announced the completion and initiation to commercial service of the eastern optical ring of its all-optical network. Upon final completion of the central and western rings within the next 45 days, Broadwing will "light up" the world's first fully optical network, enabling provisioning of coast-to-coast IP networks and creation of bandwidth-on-demand services.

The announcement further reinforces Broadwing's launch of what they company claims will be the world's first all-optical network, and follows on the heels of recent initiatives, including the first field trial of an optical signal traveling over 4000km without electrical regeneration; the creation of the only all-optical network interoperability lab; the first commercial traffic carried on an all-optical network segment; the installation of the industry's first all-optical switch manufactured by Corvis Corporation; and the completion of on-ramps to the optical network via Nortel's Optera LH and CIENA's CoreDirector Optical Switching Systems.

Broadwing's eastern ring features optical switches in Fort Worth, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Joplin, Missouri and covers 4000 route miles between New York and Fort Worth. Broadwing's fully-optical portion of its award-winning, 18,500-mile network, which currently carries revenue traffic, will be officially "lit" upon culmination of the central and western rings, within the next 45 days.

About Broadwing:

Broadwing Inc. (NYSE: BRW) creates data and Internet solutions. For more information, visit www.broadwing.com.