[PR: Regional carrier with history of DSL offerings expands its fiber coverage and ATM Network throughout New England and connects to New York Internet peer points.]
NorthEast Optic Network, Inc. Announces $10 Million
20-Year Contract With Network Plus for High Capacity
Dark Fiber Linking Boston, Nashua, Springfield, Hartford
and New York City
August 10, 1998
WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE) via NewsEdge
Corporation -- NorthEast Optic Network Announces
First Contract With HarvardNet for High Capacity
Bandwidth Linking Boston, Manchester, Portland,
Springfield, Providence and New York City
NorthEast Optic Network, Inc. (NEON(TM)) of Waltham,
Massachusetts announced today that it has signed two
contracts for advanced, high capacity, fiber optic
bandwidth with two of New England's fastest growing
telecommunications providers.
Network Plus: NEON has signed a 20-year, $10 million
IRU (indefeasible right of use) contract with Network
Plus, Inc. of Quincy, Massachusetts. Network Plus is
one of the nation's leading Integrated Communications
Providers (ICP), offering local, long distance and data
services to connect customers through the Northeast
and Southeastern United States. Under the agreement
announced today, Network Plus has purchased NEON
high capacity dark fiber on a fiber optic route linking
Boston, Massachusetts, Nashua, New Hampshire,
Springfield, Massachusetts, Hartford, Connecticut and
New York City.
"We believe Network Plus will be a significant
telecommunications player in this market," said James
Mack, NEON vice president of sales and marketing. "Our
bandwidth capacity will help them optimize their growing
requirements along the Northeast Corridor. We look
forward to further strengthening our position as a
neutral, independent provider of high capacity fiber
optics in NEON's coverage area of New England and
New York. This long term contract with Network Plus is
evidence of our ability to do just that. "
"We believe our acquisition of dark fiber to be of
significant benefit, " said Jim Crowley, Executive Vice
President of Network Plus. "Our partnership with NEON
provides us with virtual unlimited bandwidth which
allows us to both better serve our expanding customer
base and more rapidly deploy enhanced features to that
base."
HarvardNet: NEON has signed an initial 5 year, $1.2
million contract for advanced, high capacity bandwidth
with HarvardNet of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
HarvardNet is the leading provider of ADSL internet
services and an emerging CLEC (competitive local
exchange carrier) specializing in high bandwidth data
services. Under the agreement announced today,
HarvardNet has leased backbone capacity to expand its
ATM Network throughout New England and connect to
New York Internet peer points. The contract includes a
fiber route linking Boston, Massachusetts, Manchester,
New Hampshire, Portland, Maine, Springfield,
Massachusetts, Providence, Rhode Island and New York
City.
"HarvardNet is one of the leading CLECS providing data
services in New England," said NEON's James Mack,
Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "With data
services projected to dominate telecommunications
traffic in our service area, the relationship with
HarvardNet is very promising."
"HarvardNet has built its business by providing a higher
quality of service than other Internet providers," said Bill
Southworth, Chairman and CEO of HarvardNet. "It's now
time to take the next step and provide Internet
connectivity with five nines of reliability throughout
New England. NEON was the only carrier's carrier that
could meet the stringent requirements of our network
expansion in Northern New England."
NorthEast Optic Network, Inc. (NASDAQ:NOPT): NEON
is a facilities-based " carriers carrier" providing
advanced, high bandwidth, fiber optic transmission
capacity for communications carriers on local loop,
inter-city and interstate facilities. NEON currently is
expanding its fiber optic network to encompass more
than 900 route miles or more than 60,000 fiber miles in
New England and New York using electric utility
rights-of-way. Upon completion by the Year 2000, the
NEON system will create a continuous fiber optic link
between New York City and Portland, Maine, with access
into and around Boston, Massachusetts and other major
service areas in the Northeast, connecting more than 540
cities and towns in six states. The network will pass more
than 200 points-of-presence (POP's), tandem switches
and central offices of communications carriers, which
NEON estimates serves over 18 million people and 470
thousand businesses.
(Notation: Except for factual information contained in
this news release, any forward looking statements
concerning future plans for expansion and completion of
NEON are based on current estimates and projections
and actual results could vary materially from those
statements.)
CONTACT: NorthEast Optic Network, Inc. | Fred
Kocher/Victor Colantonio, 781-890-6868
[Copyright 1998, Business Wire]
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