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Windstream to Supply Fiber Services to Fort Lee Through Contract With the Department of Defense

August 1, 2012

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Aug. 1, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Windstream (Nasdaq:WIN), a leading provider of advanced network communications, announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the Defense Information System Agency (DISA) to provide Fort Lee with diverse fiber and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) services.

Located in Prince George County, Va., south of Richmond, Fort Lee has experienced a massive increase in the volume of personnel it houses, as other U.S. Army bases have closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC)—a federal program that decreased the number of bases and camps maintained by the Department of Defense.

This large population growth has increased Fort Lee's need for stronger and more reliable communication networks. Windstream is fulfilling this need by constructing two diverse fiber paths into the facilities and tying those paths together to create a robust fiber ring that is connected back to Windstream's national fiber network. The company also installed redundant DWDM network services connecting Fort Lee's backbone network to long-haul routes ensuring that data redundancy is achieved. This solution was designed to ensure that the networks at Fort Lee will be online and reliable for the thousands of personnel that depend on the data services on a daily basis. 

"Through this project, Fort Lee has secured its data and made sure that it is readily accessible at a moment's notice," said Mike Magliato, Windstream vice president of government solutions. "Military facilities must have guaranteed uptime, so it was our mission to go in and provide diversity and redundancy in the fiber build."

Since 2005, Windstream and its subsidiaries have been serving governmental entities, such as the Department of Defense and DISA, FAA, Department of Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy, U.S. Courts, and the Department of Homeland Security.  In 2010, Windstream announced the activation of the 500th high capacity circuit delivered to the United States Department of Defense (DoD). Circuit speeds for the DoD range from DS-3 to 10 Gbps.

"Within the past year, our fiber network and available services have grown immensely as a result of strategic acquisitions and capital investment," said Bill Bellando, Windstream senior vice president of Network Services. "It is our mission to continue these improvements to our infrastructure so other military facilities similar to Fort Lee will be able to provide personnel with high-quality, secure, and dependable broadband services."

Fort Lee is home to some of the military's most decorated units, training schools, and museums. These include the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the U.S. Army Quartermaster School, the U.S. Army Ordnance School, the U.S. Army Transportation School, the Army Logistics University (ALU), and the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA).

About Windstream

Windstream Corp. (Nasdaq:WIN) is a leading provider of advanced network communications, including cloud computing and managed services, to businesses nationwide. The company also offers broadband, phone and digital TV services to consumers primarily in rural areas. Windstream has more than $6 billion in annual revenues and is listed on the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit www.windstream.com.

CONTACT: Windstream Contact:

         Alice Hartnett

         704-887-0327

         alice.hartnett@windstream.com

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