Metromedia Fiber Network Signs First 'Dark Fiber' Agreement With Regional Bell Operating Company

NEW YORK -- Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. (NASDAQ:MFNX) today announced the signing of its first 'dark fiber' lease agreement with a regional Bell operating company. According to terms of the agreement, Bell Atlantic Global Networks will lease dark fiber strands from Metromedia Fiber Network to build out its new long distance network between New York City and White Plains.

The term 'dark fiber' refers to fiber optic cable without any of the electronic or optronic equipment necessary for transmission. Using Metromedia Fiber Network's infrastructure, customers are able to rapidly deploy state-of-the-art optical networks. Communications carriers and Internet Service Providers gain "last mile" connectivity to the most highly populated metropolitan areas. Corporate and government customers benefit from private building-to-building networks featuring the fastest transmission speeds available and the highest levels of reliability and security.

"Our agreement with Bell Atlantic is further evidence of the benefits provided by Metromedia Fiber Network's dark fiber solution to incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) wanting to expand services even within their traditional franchised territories," said Howard Finkelstein, president of Metromedia Fiber Network.

"By adding the nation's largest local phone company to our growing list of communications carrier customers, Metromedia Fiber Network continues to demonstrate the value and breadth of our infrastructure in enabling all types of telecommunications carriers to obtain quick and cost effective access to major Tier One metropolitan areas."

Bell Atlantic is leasing capacity from Metromedia Fiber Network to meet the future long distance demands of its business customers in New York City and area suburbs.

Stu Verge, president of Bell Atlantic Global Networks said, "we have embarked on an aggressive build out of a new long distance network and our agreement with Metromedia Fiber Network enables us to meet important objectives in our business plan. Leasing the fiber, rather than installing new lines ourselves, gives us the capability to deploy a high-speed, high-capacity data and voice communications network quickly and cost effectively."

Global Networks, a unit of Bell Atlantic's Data Solutions Group, was created to build and manage Bell Atlantic's next-generation, long distance network.

"We plan to install advanced electronics on the leased lines to deliver voice and data over a single network, which will mean a significant cost savings to our customers," said Verge. He added that Bell Atlantic plans to deploy leading-edge switching technologies such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) to handle the especially high volume of data traffic generated by businesses in the New York metro region. The company also will offer Internet Protocol (IP) routing capability to enable businesses to communicate online.

Bell Atlantic has indicated that it plans to "light" the dark fiber when it receives permission to provide long distance service in New York, which it expects in the second quarter of this year.

"Metromedia Fiber Network appreciated our need to have this capacity available in anticipation of our long distance launch," said Verge. "Their responsiveness and flexibility in reaching this deal will enable us to meet the heavy demands of customers in the metro region as soon as we're allowed to enter the long distance market."