Construction Starts on KPNQwest 'German' EuroRing(TM), Third of

Six Rings Serving 39 Key Business Centres in Europe AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (ots-PRNewswire) - KPNQwest today announced that construction has started on the German EuroRing(TM); the third of six state-of-the-art OC-192 10 Gbps self-healing rings being built in Europe by 2001. This investment of over EUR 200m in German IP infrastructure reinforces KPNQwest's commitment to meeting the demand for bandwidth in Germany, and further underpins its strategy to service German businesses needing to realise the potential that high capacity eCommerce applications and other services can provide for them. The early mover in the explosive market for European bandwidth, KPNQwest is poised to deliver the most modern, high capacity capabilities to meet the surging demand driven by data and IP services and applications (European countries are forecast to experience 100%+ growth between 1999-2003: source IDC). When completed, the EuroRings(TM) network will provide reliable, scalable, secure and seamless broadband and IP-based communications services to customers, covering a total of 39 key business centres in Europe. The bespoke, wholly owned KPNQwest European network will also be linked to the 29,500 kilometre Qwest U.S. network. "With the first two EuroRings(TM) now lit -- on time, on budget and actively serving customers, we are now aggressively following our business plan to provide service in a further nine markets by 2000 by starting the construction of our third EuroRings(TM). This ring will interconnect to the first two rings and, as in the case of Rings 1&2, will consist of 96 fibre strands capable of delivering 80 colors per strand at 10Gbps per strand. This enormous capacity enables us to service the explosive market for bandwidth and applications throughout Europe and beyond," said Henjo Groenewegen, chief operating officer of KPNQwest. Jack McMaster, chief executive officer of KPNQwest added, "With the successful completion this week of the acquisition of Xlink Consulting ISP assets in Germany, the commencement of this construction enables KPNQwest to accelerate our penetration of the growing market for data and services in Germany and beyond." The first two EuroRings(TM) now connect a total of 14 European business centres, and the third EuroRings(TM) will bring capacity to a further nine markets in Germany: Berlin, Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg, and Stuttgart. In addition to the high-speed capacity of the EuroRings(TM), KPNQwest has, through its EUnet International and Xlink IP brands, an Internet Service Provider footprint based on national backbones in 14 European markets (Austria, Belgium / Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland), with more than 450 gateways to the Internet. Together with the peering agreements of KPNQwest, these assets form a unique, transit-free stronghold in the IP space. The KPNQwest venture was announced last November and finalized on April 13, 1999. Analysts estimate that communications services in Western Europe, the addressable market for the company, will grow to about $224 billion by the year 2001. Customers for the company include multi-national and other firms worldwide that want integrated voice, data and image communications; and other communications companies that need to buy wholesale network capacity. Primed and future-proofed for data and IP, services will include IP-based voice communications; high-speed Internet access; intranets; extranets, and Web hosting; IP-based virtual private networks and ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) and IP transit services for the wholesale market. About KPNQwest KPNQwest is equally owned by KPN and Qwest Communications International Inc., the Internet communications company, headquartered in Denver, Colo. The new company brings together the state-of-the-art fiber-optic networks of the two partners and the Internet services expertise and customer base of EUnet International. The company has 650 employees formerly employed by KPN INS and EUnet International. The company plans to build and operate a high-capacity European fiber optic, Internet Protocol- based network that has 3,500 kilometers and will span 13,000 kilometers when it is completed in 2001. This network will interconnect with Qwest's 29,500 kilometer fiber-optic network in the U.S. KPNQwest will offer a full range of broadband and IP- based communications services. For further information please contact: James Doherty KPNQwest -- Media Relations Tel: + 31 20 530 5321 Email: james.doherty@kpnqwest.com This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities of KPNQwest may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. Any public offering of securities of KPNQwest to be made in the United States will be made by means of a prospectus that may be obtained from KPNQwest and that will contain detailed information about KPNQwest and management, as well as financial statements. This release may contain forward- looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include potential fluctuations in quarterly results, dependence on new product development, rapid technological and market change, failure to complete the network on schedule and on budget, financial risk management and future growth subject to risks, KPNQwest's ability to achieve Year 2000 compliance, and adverse changes in the regulatory or legislative environment. KPNQwest undertakes no obligation to review or confirm analysts' expectations or estimates or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. ots Original Text Service: KPNQwest Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: James Dohert, Media Relations of KPNQwest, 31-20-530-5321, or james.doherty@kpnqwest.com Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents. PROTEXT