Montana Power, Williams Communications, Enron Units Announce Fiber Providers for Portland-to-Los Angeles Network

    BUTTE, Mont., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- FTV Communications LLC, a consortium
 of three telecommunications companies, has announced the selection of two
 high-count, fiber-optic cable providers for its portion of a 1,620-mile
 network between Portland and Los Angeles.
     The inland route will go through Boise, Idaho; Salt Lake City, Utah; and
 Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as provide advanced telecommunications services to
 rural populations along the way. FTV will build and maintain the 1,380-mile
 segment between Portland and Las Vegas.
     An underground cable contract, representing 84 percent of the Portland
 to Las Vegas route, has been let to Northern Telecom, Inc. of Alpharetta, Ga.,
 while Alcoa Fujikura Ltd. of Spartanburg, S.C., will provide the optical
 ground wire for the remaining 16 percent of the project. The fiber contracts
 total more than $50 million.
     Underground cable is buried in duct. Optical ground wire runs overhead on
 electric transmission towers in conjunction with high voltage power lines.
 The three participating companies that formed the limited liability
 company to construct the network and own equal shares in FTV
 Communications, are:
 
     * Touch America, a subsidiary of The Montana Power Company (NYSE:   MTP)
 based in Butte, Mont.
     * Williams Communications Group, Inc., a division of The Williams
 Companies, Inc., (NYSE:   WMB) through its Vyvx, Inc. business unit. All
 are based in Tulsa, Okla.
     * FirstPoint Communications, Inc., an Enron Corp (NYSE:   ENE) subsidiary
 with headquarters in Portland.
 
     Mike Meldahl, president of Touch America, construction manager for the FTV
 project, said the announcement of the high-count fiber providers is a major
 step in the construction process. "Each FTV company will select and provide
 its own optical electronics installed along the route to transmit pulses of
 laser light through the fiber," he said.
     The Las Vegas to Los Angeles segment of the network will be built by IXC
 Communications Inc. of Los Angeles. FTV and IXC have agreed to build and share
 the new inland, fiber-optic network from Portland to Los Angeles. Each company
 will maintain its own portion of the route.
     Construction on the new fiber-optic system began in November and is
 expected to be completed by the end of 1998.
 
     About Touch America
     Touch America is a wholly-owned telecommunications subsidiary of The
 Montana Power Company, providing long distance services, private line
 services, Internet, and business telephone equipment throughout the Pacific
 Northwest since 1983. The company's digital fiber optic network employs the
 most advanced telecommunications technology available today. Touch America
 offers a full line of long distance services, as well as dedicated voice,
 data, video services and frame relay solutions. Touch America's equipment
 services include design, installation, and maintenance of PBX and key systems.
 The company also offers construction management oversight of the installation
 of fiber optic systems. Touch America and The Montana Power Company are based
 in Butte, Mont. Information about Touch America can be found at
 http://www.in-tch.com or http://www.mtpower.com.
 
     About Williams Communications Group, Inc.
     Williams Communications Group, Inc. provides a full range of enterprise
 network solutions, communications services and advanced applications to
 businesses domestically and globally. These services include integrated
 fiber-optic, satellite and teleport video transmission services;
 nationwide single-source business communications systems integration;
 multipoint video- and audio-conferencing; satellite business
 applications; enhanced fax services; interactive technical training, on-demand
 distance learning, and Internet and telemarketing services.
 Williams Communications Group is one of The Williams Companies, Inc.,
 based in Tulsa, Okla. Information can be found at http://www.wilcom.com
 and http://www.twc.com.
 
     About FirstPoint Communications, Inc.
     FirstPoint Communications provides, via its own facilities and alliances,
 high-bandwidth data, video and multimedia services, both nationally and
 internationally. FirstPoint's primary focus is on the wholesale carriers'
 carrier market and the rapidly growing high-bandwidth connectivity needs of
 multinational companies. FirstPoint Communications is a subsidiary of Enron
 Corp based in Houston. Information about Enron can be found at
 http://www.enron.com.
     NOTE:  All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
 
 

SOURCE  Montana Power Company