Williams Communications Group of Atlanta, GA, plans to build a coast-to-coast multimedia backbone

Williams Communications Group of Atlanta, GA, plans to build a coast-to-coast multimedia backbone network using Nortel`s high-capacity transport and video equipment. Under a five-year, $300 million agreement, Montreal-based Nortel will supply its s/dms TransportNode OC-48 (2.5-Gbit/sec) and OC-192 (10-Gbit/sec) systems with dense wavelength-division multiplexing and video-networking equipment to provide more bandwidth. Nortel equipment valued at about $150 million will be deployed along Williams Communications` fiber routes by year-end 1998. Williams Communications` Vyvx business unit provides video back-haul service and has an 11,000-route-mi fiber-optic backbone serving major markets across the United States. The company also plans to add 8000 mi of fiber along strategic routes.