AboveNet Enters Into Joint Venture to Bring Its Global Internet Network
to Japan Speeding Internet Traffic and E-commerce Around the World
SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec 13, 1999 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Joint Venture with Marubeni and Trans Cosmos Links
Japan, the U.S. and Europe into One Seamless Network
AboveNet Communications Inc., a subsidiary of Metromedia Fiber
Network, Inc. (Nasdaq:MFNX), announced today that is has extended its
global one-hop Internet network into Japan through a strategic joint
venture, AboveNet Japan K.K., formed with two of Japan's largest
companies and high technology leaders -- Marubeni Corporation and Trans
Cosmos, Inc.
The joint venture will have far-reaching effects for the flow of
Internet traffic within Japan and between Japan and the United States
and Europe. It will help streamline the routing of traffic between
continents to improve the quality of content, media, and applications
delivered over the Internet around the world. Marubeni owns fifty
percent of the venture, Trans Cosmos owns ten percent, and AboveNet
owns forty percent.
"By extending our IP network to Japan, AboveNet is breaking new ground
in the evolution of the Internet as a global medium. AboveNet Japan
will tie Japan and other Asia Pacific countries more closely to U.S.
and Europe and it will create a seamless global optical IP
infrastructure unsurpassed for speed and performance," said Sherman
Tuan, AboveNet CEO. "For the first time, Internet users on multiple
continents will be able to navigate the Web and obtain the information
they want without leaving AboveNet's network."
AboveNet Japan will build an Internet Service Exchange facility in
Tokyo modeled after AboveNet's state-of-the art facilities in the U.S.
and Europe and designed to meet local requirements. It is scheduled to
open in the second quarter of 2000. Japanese ISPs, content providers,
e-commerce companies, and enterprises will for the first time be able
to co-locate their Internet equipment in a secure, fault-tolerant
regionally based co-location facility built to AboveNet's quality
standards, and obtain fast, reliable Internet connectivity via
AboveNet's high-performance global network.
AboveNet Japan, which builds upon AboveNet's momentum in the Asia
Pacific Region, is part of AboveNet's strategy to expand its facilities
globally and transform the performance of the Internet around the world
through a superior network and an infrastructure of high performance
international ISX facilities that are locally owned and operated.
AboveNet UK, AboveNet Deutschland, and AboveNet Communications Austria
were formed with local experienced Internet partners and are now
operating facilities that speed Internet traffic in Europe and between
Europe and the U.S.
AboveNet Japan, like AboveNet's European joint ventures, will access
AboveNet's broadband network, which has a current total bandwidth
capacity of 24.7 Gbps, and it will take advantage of AboveNet's peering
agreements with more than 300 ISPs and major network providers around
the world. It will serve Japanese clients and others in the Asia
Pacific region linking them together and to the U.S. and Europe on
AboveNet's global one-hop network. Also, like all of AboveNet's ISXs,
it will benefit from the end-to-end optical IP network AboveNet is
building with dark fiber provided by Metromedia Fiber Network,
AboveNet's parent company.
AboveNet Presence in the Asia Pacific Rim Region
A large number of Asia Pacific Rim ISPs currently co-locate their
equipment and obtain Internet connectivity at AboveNet's San Jose ISX.
Among theses providers are AT&T Asia Pacific of Hong Kong; Loral Orion
Asia Pacific of Singapore; Hinet, SeedNet and AUNET of Taiwan;
Singapore Telecom of Singapore; Linkage On-line and HKNet of Hong Kong;
KDD and Mitsubishi Electric Information Network (MIND) of Japan; DACOM
and Korea Telecom of Korea; I-Phil.net and Globe Telecom of the
Philippines; and Netspace, Vicnet and Paradox of Australia. These
providers are expected to continue their presence at AboveNet's San
Jose facility, where many exchange traffic among themselves as well as
obtain Internet connectivity to the U.S. and European markets. AboveNet
Japan will offer these and other Asia Pacific providers the option of
co-locating their equipment and obtaining connectivity in a local
facility.
About Marubeni Corporation
Marubeni, established in 1858, is one of Japan's leading general
trading companies.
Marubeni's operations encompass domestic, import, export and offshore
trade and investment activities, and range from the development of
natural resources to the retail marketing of finished products and
consolidated total volume of trading transaction was $98.8 billion in
its fiscal year ending March 31, 1999.
Marubeni has 8,600 employees and conducts these operations through a
worldwide business network comprising almost 200 representative offices
and around 700 affiliated companies in 79 countries. For more
information, please visit the Marubeni's Web site at
marubeni.co.jp.
About Trans Cosmos Inc.
Trans Cosmos, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, supplies data processing
and data entry service, develops software, sells computer-related
products, and provides Internet networking and marketing services
solutions. Through joint ventures and strategic alliances, Trans Cosmos
integrates viable technologies into the products and services it
offers. Trans Cosmos also actively pursues new technologies through
direct investments and investments through its subsidiaries in the
Unites States venture capital market. With more than 600 customers and
1998 revenue of more than 35.5 billion yen, Trans Cosmos is one of
Japan's largest companies. For more information about Trans Cosmos's
U.S. subsidiary, visit the company's Web site at
trans-cosmos.co.jp.
About AboveNet and Metromedia Fiber Network
AboveNet Communications, the architect of the global one-hop network
and a leading provider of Internet connectivity and co-location
solutions for high-bandwidth and business critical applications, is a
subsidiary of Metromedia Fiber Network. Metromedia Fiber Network is
building metropolitan fiber optic infrastructure in the local loop in
strategic major metropolitan markets, enabling technologically
sophisticated organizations to implement the latest data, video,
Internet and multimedia applications. The combined company will
facilitate the explosive growth of e-commerce and advanced Internet
applications by delivering secure, reliable and scalable optical
networks to Internet content and service providers, carriers and
enterprise users worldwide. For more information on AboveNet and its
service offering call 800/475-2733 or visit the company's Web site at
www.above.net. For more information about Metromedia Fiber Network,
please visit the company's Web site at www.mmfn.com.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause or contribute
to such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
general economic and business conditions, competition, changes in
technology and methods of marketing, and various other factors beyond
the Company's control. This also includes such factors as described
from time to time in the SEC filings by Metromedia Fiber Network,
including the most recently filed Forms S-3, 10-K and10-Q.
Note to Editors: AboveNet, Internet Service Exchange, ISX, and AboveNet
Global One-Hop Network are trademarks of AboveNet Communications, Inc.
All other company or brand names may be trademarks of the respective
companies with which they are associated.
Copyright (C) 1999 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
Distributed via COMTEX.
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CONTACT: AboveNet Communications
Rose Marr, 408/367-6681
rose@above.net
WEB PAGE: businesswire.com
GEOGRAPHY: afxap CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL ASIA PACIFIC
INDUSTRY CODE: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS
INTERNET
NETWORKING
PRODUCT |
