PF Telecom and Koch Ventures Form PF.Net to Develop National Fiber Optic Carrier's Carrier Network, the 'Network of the Net'
May 28, 1999
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VANCOUVER, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)
via NewsEdge Corporation -- PF Telecom and Koch Ventures today announced the formation of PF.Net, LLC to construct, develop and provide dark fiber and facilities-based, wholesale, "carrier's carrier" services to Internet Service Providers, e-commerce service providers, long distance carriers, local service providers, wireless operators, emerging communication service providers and corporations with large networking requirements.
PF.Net plans to utilize the most technologically advanced fiber and optical electronic equipment to provide voice, data, and video services over a new National Fiber Optic network with over 11,000 route miles, connecting the largest telecom markets in the country.
"The demands for capacity by the Internet and changes in technology and market dynamics continue to present tremendous opportunities in the growing communications business," said John Warta, Chairman and CEO of PF Telecom and PF.Net. "Through the collective resources, skills, and talents of PF Telecom and Koch Ventures, we will continue to detect changes in the market's needs and quickly maneuver to capture these opportunities."
The company will leverage the telecommunications experience and capabilities of PF Telecom and the unique rights-of-way and construction capabilities of Koch Ventures' parent, Koch Industries, Inc., to construct and market a secure, national, high-bandwidth, fiber optic network. It is expected that the company's initial project will lay the groundwork for a coast-to-coast network stretching across the United States from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Fla.
"We are excited to team up with our entrepreneurial partner, PF Telecom, and to use Koch Industries' subsidiaries 35,000 miles of pipeline rights-of-way and construction experience to build the communications pipeline for the future," said Joe Moeller, Chairman of Koch Ventures and a member of the Board of Directors of Koch Industries. "We are confident that Koch's success in the pipeline industry will be duplicated in the fiber optic network business and that our experience as a leading provider of wholesale services in the energy industry will be applicable as well."
As a telecommunications pioneer, the PF Telecom management team anticipated changes in fiber optic network requirements at both the interexchange and local exchange carrier level. PF Telecom management, in conjunction with various utilities, developed long distance networks in the late 1980's and early 1990's to meet the growing demand of interexchange carriers. To capitalize on the opportunities created in the local exchange markets by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, PF Telecom management led the development, financing, and management of two competitive local exchange carriers, Electric Lightwave and GST Telecommunications, both of which are now publicly traded.
Koch Ventures sponsors entrepreneurial ventures focused on the effects of technological advances in telecommunications, business-to-business Internet, E-commerce, environmental risk management, specialty finance, and packaging. As Koch Ventures' selection as its exclusive endeavor in the long-haul fiber optic network industry, PF.Net will represent a significant addition to Koch Ventures' investment portfolio. For more information, visit kochventures.com on the Internet.
Koch Ventures is the private equity arm of Koch Industries, Inc. Koch Industries, through its subsidiaries, employs 16,000 people worldwide and is involved in virtually all phases of the oil and gas industry, as well as in chemicals, plastics, energy services, chemical and environmental technology products, asphalt products, metals and mineral services, agriculture, financial services, and ventures. For more information on Koch, refer to kochind.com.
<<Business Wire, 05-27-99, 15:21 Eastern>>
CONTACT: PF Telecom | Geoff Warta, 360/335-9301 | GJWARTA@aol.com.
[Copyright 1999, Business Wire]
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