WASHINGTON-In reporting its year-end 1998 results, Pathnet Inc. also announced it expanded
its wholesale-to-carriers digital broadband access provision strategy beyond wireless to include fiber-optic cable,
supplied exclusively by Lucent Technologies Inc.
“We have encountered significant customer demand for
high bandwidth facilities that our wireless network simply is not equipped to handle,” said Kevin Bennis,
president of communications services for the start-up carrier’s carrier.
“By broadening our strategy to include
fiber on selected routes, we will now be able to meet that demand with high quality network
services.”
Pathnet, which is privately held, posted losses of $15.6 million on revenues of $1.6 million in 1998,
its first full year of operation. During 1997, it reported losses of $4.1 million and revenues of $200,000.
“With
the activation of [our] first customers in the second half of 1998 and the anticipated completion of several additional
network routes in the first half of 1999, [we] expect telecommunications revenue to continue to increase throughout all
four quarters of 1999,” the company said.
Richard A. Jalkut, president and chief executive officer, said
Pathnet ended last year with 2,000 wireless network miles completed, an additional 5,000 miles under construction and
10,000 more route miles under contract.
The company describes its strategy as one of partnering with utility,
railroad and pipeline companies in order to upgrade and aggregate existing wireless infrastructure into a state-of-the-art
Synchronous Optical Network.
