Global Crossing Supplies SURFnet With Cross-Continental TransLight Link

- Global Crossing selection based on global reach, capacity, reliability and quality of service.
- 10 Gbps lambda optical link supports TransLight, a global initiative to test the most aggressive scientific applications of this decade through collaboration.

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS -- Global Crossing announced today it has won a contract to provide the Netherlands national research network SURFnet with a key 10 Gbps lambda connection between the Dutch optical infrastructure NetherLight and the StarLight research facility in Chicago.

Planned to go live in July, the capacity will be used for TransLight, a global experimental networking initiative that supports e-science applications, and will also provide a high-performance network connecting national research networks in the United Stated and Canada to the GÉANT network in Europe. GÉANT connects more than 3,000 universities, research and educational institutions in 32 countries.

"We are thrilled that SURFnet and their research partners worldwide have once again turned to Global Crossing's high performance network for its unsurpassed reach, architecture and transmission capabilities," said Phil Metcalf, managing director for Global Crossing Europe. "SURFnet and Global Crossing together are raising scientific research and global collaboration to new levels."

TransLight will enable e-scientists and grid researchers to experiment with moving huge amounts of data and support real-time collaboration with high-resolution visualization using dedicated circuits.

Tom DeFanti, principal investigator for StarLight, said: "E-scientists are clear that the most aggressive e-science applications require ultra-high bandwidth services available from Global Crossing."

Lambda networking (also called "light path switching") uses the technology and services surrounding multiple optical wavelengths (known as lambdas) to provide independent communications channels along a strand of optical fiber. It provides scalable speeds up to 10 Gbps, lowers the costs of high capacity circuits, and directly interfaces with high-speed Local Area Network (LAN) technologies. By using lambdas, research and educational institutions are able to better concentrate on applications with the assurance of world-class network management handled by Global Crossing.

SURFnet expects that lambda switching will be in production for its own next-generation network, SURFnet6, part of a plan to make available multitudes of 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps light paths to customers that require high capacity.

"For massive data transfers, light path switching will play an important role in the next generation of our network." Erik-Jan Bos, manager network services for SURFnet. "Our challenge is to upgrade to this new paradigm and to seamlessly integrate this into the IP network. Meanwhile, we expect to be matching the robust nature and stability of traditional commercial networks. We are confident that the Global Crossing lambda will contribute to this goal."

Global Crossing and Research and Educational Networks
Global Crossing has provided SURFnet direct connectivity between SARA, the Dutch national expertise center in the field of high-performance computing and networking, and StarLight since October 2001. In July 2002, SURFnet signed a 15-year contract with Global Crossing for a dark fiber link with ASTRON, the Netherlands foundation for research in astronomy. Additionally, in October 2002, Global Crossing was commissioned for a multi-Gigabit wavelength connection between Amsterdam's NetherLight and the European nuclear research organization CERN in Geneva for use in tests that optimize how research networks are used. In April, Global Crossing was again selected for a multiple fiber connection to pass terabyte traffic streams between ASTRON and its radio telescopes.

Global Crossing has a reputation as a premier network provider to the international academic and research community. It supports DANTE, the organization responsible for managing the world's largest academic and research network, GÉANT. Global Crossing has been commissioned for multi-gigabit IP Transit Service to DANTE, which operates a 10 Gbps European IP backbone to connect approximately 3,500 research and educational establishments in more than 30 countries around Europe. In Ireland, Global Crossing has a contract with the research network HEAnet to provide fast Internet access to more than 150,000 students, academics and researchers. Elsewhere in the world, Global Crossing supports the Brazilian National Research and Education Network (RNP) and FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo), the largest academic research institution in Brazil.

About SURFnet and Netherlight
SURFnet operates the national research network to which 150 institutions in higher education and research in the Netherlands are connected. To remain in the lead SURFnet puts in a sustained effort to improve the infrastructure and to develop new applications to give users faster and better access to new Internet services. One of SURFnet's latest initiatives is NetherLight, an experimental optical Internet interconnection point in Amsterdam. Research networks and institutes in the Netherlands and abroad can connect their lambdas in order to research models and techniques for future generations of optical Internet exchanges.

About StarLight
StarLight ^SM, the optical STAR TAP ^SM initiative, is an advanced optical infrastructure and proving ground for network services optimized for high-performance applications. Operational since summer 2001, StarLight is a 1 GigE and 10 GigE switch/router facility for high-performance access to participating networks and will ultimately become a true optical switching facility for wavelengths. StarLight is being developed by the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), the International Center for Advanced Internet Research (iCAIR) at Northwestern University, and the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory, in partnership with Canada's CANARIE and The Netherlands's SURFnet. STAR TAP and StarLight are made possible by major funding from the US National Science Foundation to the University of Illinois at Chicago. STAR TAP and StarLight are service marks of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

About Translight
TransLight is a global-scale experimental networking initiative that supports prototypes for the most aggressive e-science applications of this decade. TransLight consists of multiple Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) circuits between North America, Europe and Asia via StarLight in Chicago. TransLight enables grid researchers to experiment with deterministic provisioning of dedicated circuits, and then compare the results with standard and experimental aggregated Internet traffic. Methods to be tested and compared include moving large amounts of data, supporting real-time collaboration and visualization, and enabling globally distributed computing at rates that equal the fast proliferation of such facilities. This new cyber infrastructure, built of lambda networks connecting distributed computing resources with advanced grid services, is being designed by global, interdisciplinary teams of e-scientists, application programmers, networking engineers, electrical/computer engineers and computer scientists. These teams are attacking challenging research issues and developing innovative solutions for the development of a lambda grid of electronically and optically switched circuits and advanced grid services.

About Global Crossing
Global Crossing provides telecommunications solutions over the world's first integrated global IP-based network, which reaches 27 countries and more than 200 major cities around the globe. Global Crossing serves many of the world's largest corporations, providing a full range of managed data and voice products and services.

On January 28, 2002, Global Crossing Ltd. and certain of its subsidiaries (excluding Asia Global Crossing and its subsidiaries) commenced Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Bankruptcy Court) and coordinated proceedings in the Supreme Court of Bermuda (Bermuda Court). On the same date, the Bermuda Court granted an order appointing joint provisional liquidators with the power to oversee the continuation and reorganization of the Bermuda-incorporated companies' businesses under the control of their boards of directors and under the supervision of the Bankruptcy Court and the Bermuda Court. Additional Global Crossing subsidiaries commenced Chapter 11 cases on April 23, August 4 and August 30, 2002, with the Bermuda incorporated subsidiaries filing coordinated insolvency proceedings in the Bermuda Court. The administration of all the cases filed subsequent to Global Crossing's initial filing on January 28, 2002 has been consolidated with that of the cases commenced on January 28, 2002. Global Crossing's Plan of Reorganization, which was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on December 26, 2002, does not include a capital structure in which existing common or preferred equity will retain any value.

On November 18, 2002, Asia Global Crossing Ltd., a majority-owned subsidiary of Global Crossing, and its subsidiary, Asia Global Crossing Development Co., commenced Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York and coordinated proceedings in the Supreme Court of Bermuda, both of which are separate from the cases of Global Crossing. Asia Global Crossing has announced that no recovery is expected for Asia Global Crossing's shareholders. Asia Netcom, a company organized by China Netcom Corporation (Hong Kong) on behalf of a consortium of investors, has acquired substantially all of Asia Global Crossing's operating subsidiaries except Pacific Crossing Ltd., a majority-owned subsidiary of Asia Global Crossing that filed separate bankruptcy proceedings on July 19, 2002. Global Crossing no longer has control of or effective ownership in any of the assets formerly operated by Asia Global Crossing.

Contact:
Press
Mish Desmidt
Europe
ph: +44 (0) 7771.668438
Mish.Desmidt @ globalcrossing.com

Analysts/Investors
Ken Simril
ph: +1.310.385.3838
investors @ globalcrossing.com

SURFnet
Sandra Passchier
ph: +31.30.2305.315
sandra.passchier @ surfnet.nl

The Communications Group
Terry Davidson
ph: +32.2.640.92.07
terry @ eurocom.be