[PSINet Acquires Fiber Throughout Europe to Expand Its Global Commercial Internet]
Adds Fiber Optic Capacity Connecting 30 Cities in Europe, Allows Expansion to Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, and Sweden
NYON, Switzerland and LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 1999--PSINet Inc. (NASDAQ:PSIX), the first and largest independent commercial Internet service provider (ISP), today announced it has completed a long-term acquisition program of Indefeasible Rights of Use (IRUs) in STM-1 (155 megabit per second -- Mbps) fiber optic capacity from multiple sources. This network will stretch over 21,000 km and will be configured as multiple rings linking 30 of the largest cities in Europe.
PSINet will initially build and operate three interlocking rings at the STM-1 level which will replace its current E-3 (34 Mbps) infrastructure in Europe. These initial rings will connect 11 cities. Each STM-1 segment may be expanded to STM-4 (620 Mbps) or higher. By the end of 1999, this new fiber network is expected to link existing PSINet operations in the following cities: London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Geneva, and Zurich.
In 2000, PSINet will add additional cities to the network, which will be configured with multiple paths to avoid congestion and single points of failure. The new cities include: Antwerp, Copenhagen, Lyon, Marseille, Strasbourg, Hannover, Hamburg, Cologne, Milan, Turin, Luxembourg, Monaco, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Rotterdam, and Vienna.
"This network expansion reduces our European network cost by 90% compared to leased bandwidth, and contributes to our operating margins as soon as data flows on the fiber," said Harry G. Hobbs, president, PSINet Europe, and senior vice president, PSINet Inc. "PSINet is seeking high quality ISPs to join our group and, with this added fiber capacity, our acquisition momentum may accelerate. Commercial and consumer demand for Internet access and Intranets, electronic commerce and web services continue to explode."
PSINet's newly acquired fiber systems will be directly connected with the company's existing global Internet network that currently serves 55,000 businesses in 12 of the top 20 international markets in North America, Asia and Europe. This infrastructure acquisition enables PSINet to further expand its presence into 3 additional top 20 markets including Austria, Spain, and Sweden, as well as 3 other new countries including Denmark, Luxembourg, and Monaco.
"Building on our tremendous growth in the UK, PSINet continues to build Europe's most comprehensive combination of Internet networking facilities and applications for businesses," said Valerie Holt, managing director for PSINet's UK operations, the largest subsidiary of PSINet Europe. "The European fiber should be sufficient to support PSINet's traffic for the next several years, linking our customers to all of our global hosting centers, and assuring our customers of the highest quality Internet services in the industry."
Financial terms of the above transactions were not disclosed. However, PSINet has the option to purchase additional capacity quickly, add new points of presence (POPs) to accommodate its continued strong growth, and to cross-connect any future fiber capacity as it is acquired. |
