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Network World, 4/20/98

Don't tell American Communications Services (ACSI) that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 isn't working. Revenues at ACSI, the fastest growing company on the Network World 200, jumped up 556% last year, from $9 million to $59 million.

Formed in 1993 as a competitive access provider serving Southern cities, as late as year-end 1996 all revenue was derived from dedicated and special access services.

But after the act passed ACSI decided to jump in with both feet. And jump it has. Whereas at the end of 1996 the company had 29 Newbridge ATM switches and had sold 360 access lines, by year-end 1997 it had 39 ATM switches and 16 Lucent 5ESS central office switches, and had sold 43,581 customer access lines.

Services offered now include local and long-distance voice, calling card, audioconferencing and a fairly complete list of data offerings, including frame relay and ATM. The primary missing component is a full-fledged Internet offering, but the company bought an Internet service provider in Florida earlier this year and will extend the service throughout its territory, says CEO and President Jack Reich.

That territory includes 32 Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities - places such as Baltimore, Dallas and Fort Worth - in 19 states. The cities are wired with some 1,000 network route miles (98,000 fiber miles) and are, in turn, strung together with a coast-to-coast leased fiber backbone.

Reich says the company - which last week was renamed e.spire - competes on price, undercutting traditional local service by 10%; on customer service; and on integrated billing.

The plan this year is to open up shop in Miami and Atlanta and enter two other cities that Reich wouldn't identify. "We'll go from 16 5ESS switches to 25 by the end of the year,'' he says.

The act is working just fine, thank you very much.