Short Take: Qwest, Jato sign $37.5 million DSL deal

Qwest Communications International and Jato Communications, a wholesale provider of high-speed digital subscriber lines serving smaller metropolitan markets, signed a five-and-a-half year deal giving Jato access to Qwest's fiber-optic backbone and rounding out Qwest's DSL deployments. Qwest will get $25 million in business from Jato, while Jato will get a $12.5 million investment from Qwest. Qwest plans to offer DSL in 25 major markets by 2001 via several provider partners.