Then read something like this to put the picture together.......
Metromedia Fiber Network to Implement $1.4 Billion Expansion of AboveNet
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2000--
Over 29,000 Route Miles of Long-Haul Fiber with up to Multi-Terabit
per Second Capacity Will Connect MFN's Metropolitan-Area Fiber
Networks and Create First Customer Premises-to-Customer Premises,
Optical Internet Infrastructure
Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. (MFN)(Nasdaq: MFNX - news) and its subsidiary AboveNet Communications, Inc. have begun implementing a $1.4 billion broadband infrastructure expansion designed to create the largest customer premises-to-customer premises, purely optical, IP network in North America and Europe.
The expansion will light nearly 29,000 route miles of long-haul fiber in North America and Europe, with up to multi-terabit per second capacity. This new, purely optical Internet infrastructure will be free from the competing demands of voice traffic common in today's telecommunications networks. The infrastructure's tremendous capacity and reach will enable new bandwidth-intensive applications and connectivity improvements for AboveNet and MFN customers. The ability to add capacity whenever needed will result in virtually unlimited bandwidth that is hundreds of times greater than the bandwidth available on the Internet today.
More than 67 cities and 14 new AboveNet Internet Service Exchange (ISX) facilities will be reached by the expansion. Combining advanced optics and infrastructure for a better Internet, the network will enable millions of users to simultaneously receive video, audio, and other data-rich broadband applications that are not possible with today's existing congested Internet networks.
The expansion will allow MFN and AboveNet to meet the rapidly growing demands of enterprise customers, ISPs, and Internet content providers seeking new levels of bandwidth and network performance. It will create an IP architecture over a dedicated optical network to reach all the way through the local loop to business centers throughout North America and Europe.
``This commitment underscores the value of the marriage of MFN and AboveNet in providing a purely optical Internet with the lowest cost of bandwidth in the world,' said Nick Tanzi, president and chief operating officer of Metromedia Fiber Network. ``No other provider can deliver such a comprehensive network of optical Internet architecture, connectivity and an end-to-end presence directly into customer premises.'
The network will seamlessly connect all AboveNet facilities, including its three joint venture operations in Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom, with AboveNet's East Coast and West Coast hubs in Vienna, Va., and San Jose, Calif., and will provide AboveNet customers with exceptionally fast and reliable connectivity to the Internet. AboveNet's facility expansion, the largest in its history, includes 14 new Internet Service Exchange (ISX) facilities within North America and Europe. It will add in excess of 1 million square feet of co-location space to AboveNet's hubs of operation internationally.
``AboveNet is deploying an all-optical, terabit IP architecture to expand and extend the company's value proposition of better connectivity and reliability to millions more Internet end users,' said David Rand, chief technical officer of Metromedia Fiber Network and AboveNet. ``With our own end-to-end fiber network connecting AboveNet facilities to more than 67 cities internationally, we can avoid traditional telco delays and respond to customers' expansion needs immediately.'
Each segment of the expansion, which is already under way, is being implemented at 40Gbps capacity. The expansion will be completed in the next 12 to 18 months. The first nine AboveNet facilities are scheduled to open in the year 2000, with the remaining five scheduled to open in early 2001. These new facilities will add to, and benefit from, the operational efficiencies of AboveNet's own one-hop global optical network.
About Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc.
Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc., the leading provider of end-to-end optical network solutions, is revolutionizing the fiber optic industry. By offering virtually unlimited, unmetered bandwidth at a fixed cost, Metromedia Fiber Network is eliminating the bandwidth barrier and redefining the way broadband capacity is sold. Metromedia Fiber Network is extending metropolitan fiber optic infrastructure to the end user in strategic top-tier markets, enabling its customers to implement the latest data, video, Internet and multimedia applications. In addition to its current expansion in 51 cities in North America, Metromedia Fiber Network is establishing an international presence with planned fiber optic network builds in 16 cities throughout Europe.
Together with its subsidiaries, AboveNet Communications, Inc., a leading provider of co-location and Internet connectivity solutions, and Paix.net, Inc., the leading neutral Internet Exchange, Metromedia Fiber Network is unleashing the full potential of the Internet. The combined company facilitates the explosive growth of e-commerce and advanced Internet applications by delivering secure, reliable and scalable optical networks and IP services to Internet content and service providers, carriers and enterprise users worldwide. For more information about Metromedia Fiber Network, please visit the company's Web site at www.mmfn.com.
About AboveNet Communications, Inc.
AboveNet Communications, Inc., a subsidiary of Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc., is a leading provider of Internet connectivity and co-location solutions for high bandwidth and business-critical applications. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., AboveNet is the architect of the Internet Service Exchange (ISX)--a world class network that provides co-location services and Internet connectivity for content providers, ISPs and application service providers. The AboveNet Global One-Hop Network is designed to deliver fast, scalable and reliable connections to the Internet and improves the Internet experience for end-users. With its Tier 1 status and ISO 9002 certification, AboveNet is seeking to serve the global community of the Internet. For more information on AboveNet and its service offering call 800/475-2733 or visit the company's Web site at www.above.net.
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.
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. |
