the capacity on its state-of-the-art, undersea fiber optic telecommunications system.

Atlantic Crossing (AC-1) capacity has been expanded from 40 gigabits to 80 gigabits.

Global Crossing CEO Jack Scanlon said, "The demand for bandwidth across the Atlantic has exceeded our forecasts and is being driven by the European growth of the Internet, multinational corporate Intranets and E-commerce. By accelerating the AC-1's capacity upgrade, we are confident we can continue to meet this increased level of demand.'' AC-1 -- the first step in the development and implementation of the Global Crossing Network -- went into commercial service this May between the United States and the United Kingdom.

AC-1 connectivity to Germany will be activated in November 1998 and to the Netherlands in December 1998. Global Crossing has also signed contracts and arranged financing for the systems connecting Europe, the Americas, and Asia: Pacific Crossing (PC-1), Pan American Crossing (PAC) and Mid-Atlantic Crossing (MAC).

When complete, Global Crossing will offer the world's first independent global fiber optic network interconnecting approximately 50 of the leading cities in the world ranked by telecommunications traffic.