Williams Links Next-Generation Networks in US and Australia

TULSA, Okla., May 17 -- In an attempt to entice the Australian market to participate in the global growth of the internet, Williams Communications and PowerTel Ltd. have agreed to establish high-speed links between their networks in the US and Australia.
Under the agreement, Williams acquired significant capacity on the Southern Cross Cable Network. The network links Australia and New Zealand with Hawaii and the US West Coast via an undersea fiber-optic cable. The Southern Cross network is capable serving hundreds of times more users than the current Australian cables. The companies plan to complete implementation of the project by November.
In an informal agreement the companies plan to work together to establish data and voice products as well as to send traffic to each other's networks on a preferred-vendor basis.