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Technology Stocks : AboveNet Communications, Inc. (ABOV) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Doc Horror who wrote (638)	5/21/1999 6:29:00 PM
From: Budnoc	Respond to of 835

If ABOV buys PAIX I believe that it would be a huge positive for the future of ABOV. There was a segment on CNBC's market wrap last night about the future of bandwith over DSL lines. Basically it said that the backbone of the DSL service would be channeled between 4 major exchanges. Two on the East coast and two on the west coast. PAIX is one of the west coast exchanges.

To: Doc Horror who wrote (638)	5/21/1999 6:40:00 PM
From: Budnoc	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 835

I cant believe I'm going to go through another weekend dreaming of where ABOV will trade in the upcoming week. Definitely getting sick of the short term disappointments. Hopefully this news starts the run that all of us have been waiting too long for.

To: Doc Horror who wrote (638)	5/22/1999 8:47:00 AM
From: Richard D. Brennan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 835

AboveNet Close To PAIX Buy By Randy Barrett May 21, 1999 5:01 PM ET AboveNet Communications is in final negotiations to buy the Palo Alto (Calif.) Internet Exchange for an undisclosed sum. The news that the exchange will fall into the hands of a commercial Internet provider sent waves through the backbone industry. The exchange, where national and local networks trade Internet Protocol packets, is a major intersection for West Coast Internet traffic and one of six leading public connection points on the Net. PAIX originally was developed and operated by Digital Equipment, but it now is owned by Compaq Computer. Inter@ctive Week has learned from sources close to the deal that AboveNet plans to buy and operate PAIX under a separate management board and that the focus and operation of the facility are likely to remain the same. Exchanges traditionally have been owned by telephone companies that were generally perceived to be neutral. Since it never has been owned by a carrier, PAIX is especially viewed as a networking Switzerland, industry experts said. "It would be better for it not to be [owned by] AboveNet," RMI.Net Chief Technical Officer Robert Laughlin said. Executives at other backbone operators were similarly negative on the idea that PAIX soon will be owned by a competitor. "How can you be an Internet provider and be an exchange too?" asked one executive who did not want to be named. Craig Labovitz, chairman of the North American Network Operators Group, a network service provider professional organization, wouldn't comment on the impact of the sale, but he said: "It's an interesting move. It's something we haven't seen before." Compaq officials could not be reached for comment. PAIX has a good reputation among network operators as an exchange that is well-managed and well-operated. AboveNet's motive for buying PAIX is unclear. The San Jose-based company provides long-haul transit of traffic between two very large data centers on the East and West coasts; it is expanding its colocation and content delivery business to Europe. The likely sale to AboveNet comes as many question the future of public exchanges in the evolution of the Net. Metropolitan Access Exchange East and West have been roundly criticized by MCI WorldCom for high packet loss and poor upkeep. Most large networks avoid the public exchanges altogether and trade traffic privately among themselves.