Qwest Communications Receives Extension on Existing Contract Worth Up To $25 Million to Provide High-Speed Internet Services for NASA’s Research And E

Qwest Communications International Inc.,
the broadband Internet communications company, today announced that
it has received a five-year award valued up to $25 million to provide a host
of broadband Internet communications services for the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration’s (NASA) Research and Education Network (NREN).
Qwest
will be providing access to its high-speed Internet backbone, direct broadband
local access, and comprehensive network operations support.

Under the project, Qwest will expand the NREN network from five sites to
eight of NASA’s major research sites including, for the first time, NASA
headquarters in Washington, D.C., making it NASA’s most capable network for
research.
The Qwest network will provide faster connectivity for these sites
than ever before, increasing the speed from 155 megabits per second to an
unparalleled 622 Mbps for nearly all NASA research locations.
Four of these
locations use Qwest local broadband services to connect directly from NASA
facilities to Qwest’s 106,000 mile global network.
The expanded, faster NREN
will cost-effectively support bandwidth-hungry applications used in aerospace
design, space science, space exploration, and Earth sciences and enable the
centers to harness the expertise distributed throughout NASA by connecting all
eight facilities on one network.

The sites to be connected include the NASA Headquarters in Washington,
D.C.; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Ames Research Center
at Moffett Field, California; the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
California; the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; the Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; the NASA John H. Glenn Research
Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, Ohio; and the Next Generation Internet
Exchange (NGIX), in Chicago, Illinois.

Projects include a virtual simulation laboratory offering remote analysis
and interactive participation for aeronautical research and development;
remote-controlled demonstrations of robotic technologies relevant to long-
duration, long-distance planetary excursion; and interactive distribution of
image spreadsheets to facilitate advanced visualizations of very large
databases such as those produced by the Earth Observing Satellite.

“It’s an honor to again be selected to partner with the federal government
on a research and education network,” said James F.X. Payne, senior vice
president of Qwest Government Systems Division.
“We are proud of the
government’s continued confidence in our ability to keep its crucial research
and education efforts, including ESnet, Abilene and now NREN, on the leading
edge of technology.”

About Qwest

Qwest Communications International Inc. is a leader in reliable,
scalable and secure broadband Internet-based data, voice and image
communications for businesses and consumers.
The Qwest Macro Capacity®
Fiber Network, designed with the newest optical networking equipment for speed
and efficiency, spans more than 106,000 miles globally.
For more information,
please visit the Qwest web site at www.qwest.com.

This release may contain projections and other forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties.
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WEST timely or at all and difficulties in combining the operations of Qwest
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