COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Allegheny Communications Connect, Inc., AEP Communications LLC, FirstEnergy Telecom Corp., and GPU Telcom Services, Inc. have interconnected their fiber optic networks. The alliance will provide greater access to high-bandwidth, advanced data, voice, and video communications services across portions of Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Many rural communities and schools currently under-served by advanced data services, or those that are experiencing growing demand for internet connections, will benefit from the companies’ decision to interconnect their networks. Once the linkages are complete, communications carriers serving the region, such as AT&T, MCI/Worldcom, Sprint, and Bell Atlantic, can lease DS-1, DS-3, and higher-level Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) communications services from the four companies. “This alliance provides a competitive wholesale option for second and third tier cities throughout a nine-state region,” explained John Flinko, of Allegheny Communications Connect. Dave Keller, of AEP Communications, added, “This interconnection is part of a continuing strategy to link with other regional wholesale network providers to develop a competitive national network.” AEP Communications and Allegheny Communications Connect completed the first part of the interconnection late last year when they connected their fiber optic networks in West Virginia. The remaining interconnections will be completed by the end of June 1999 and will link together more than 2,000 miles of fiber optic cable in the central and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. “This alliance enables each company to offer service from the Midwest to the Eastern Seaboard and from the Canadian border to Florida,” said FirstEnergy’s Charlene Jurkoshek. “This network,” said Rick Poore, GPU Telcom Services, Inc., “will not only provide our communities with a reliable, high-quality connection, it also will provide access to diverse global telecommunication links comparable to larger metropolitan markets.” Allegheny Communications Connect, Inc. is an exempt telecommunications subsidiary of Allegheny Energy, Inc. (NYSE: AYE), a public utility holding company headquartered near Hagerstown, Md., that serves portions of Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. AEP Communications LLC is a subsidiary of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), a global energy company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that serves 3 million customers in portions of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. FirstEnergy Telecom is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), of Akron, Ohio, a diversified energy services company that serves more than 2.2 million customers in northern and central Ohio and portions of western Pennsylvania. GPU Telcom Services, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of GPU, Inc. (NYSE: GPU), of Morristown, NJ, a utility holding company that serves half the land areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Through its international operations, GPU serves nearly four million customers on five continents.