Exhibit 5  


                                                June 4, 1998





Electric Lightwave, Inc.
8100 N.E. Parkway Drive
Ste. 150
Vancouver, WA  98662-6461

Gentlemen:

                  As counsel to Electric Lightware, Inc., a Delaware corporation
(the "Company"), in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of
1933 (the "Act"),  of up to 200,000  shares  (subject to  adjustment) of class A
common stock of the Company (the "Stock") to be sold by the Company from time to
time pursuant to the Company's  1998  Employee  Stock  Purchase Plan ("Plan") we
have  examined  the  registration  statement  on  Form  S-8  (the  "Registration
Statement") in regard thereto,  filed under the Act, and such other documents as
we have considered  necessary for the purposes of this opinion.  Based upon such
examination, we hereby advise you that:

                  (1) We are of the opinion  that the  Company is a  corporation
validly organized and duly existing under the laws of the State of Delaware.  We
are further of the opinion that, in the event that  originally  issued shares of
class A  common  stock  of the  Company  shall  be  offered  and  sold  during a
subscription  and purchase period under the Plan (the "Offered  Stock") and such
Offered  Stock  is  issued  and  sold  in  accordance  with  the  Plan  and  the
Registration  Statement,  and when the steps  enumerated in Paragraph (2) hereof
shall have been taken, the Offered Stock will be legally issued,  fully paid and
nonassessable shares of the capital stock of the Company.

                  (2) The steps which are referred to in the foregoing Paragraph
(1) hereof are:

                      (a) It shall be determined that the public  utilities
                      commissions  of the  states of  Arizona,  California,
                      Idaho,  Oregon,  Utah and  Washington  and any  other
                      state with respect to which the Company conducts, or shall
                      have sought authority to conduct, a  telecommunications


Electric Lightwave, Inc.
June 4, 1998
Page 2

                      business   shall   be   without jurisdiction,  or shall 
                      have  declined  to  exercise jurisdiction,  over  the 
                      issuance  and  sale  of the  Offered Stock;

                      (b) The  applicable  provisions of the Act shall have
                      been complied with, and

                      (c) The Offered Stock shall have been duly issued and
                      paid for.

                  In rendering the foregoing opinion we express no opinion as to
laws other than the laws of the State of New York, the  corporation  laws of the
State of Delaware and the Federal laws of the United States

                  We hereby  consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit
to the Registration Statement.

                                            Very truly yours,

                                       /s/  Winthrop, Stimpson, Putnam & Roberts