MIAMI, March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FPL FiberNet, LLC, the fiber-
optic subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL), today announced the signing
of a 20-year agreement with Centennial Florida Switch Corporation, a
subsidiary of Centennial Communications.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010827/FPLOGO )
SONET is a family of fiber-optic transmission rates created to provide the
flexibility needed to transport digital signals with different capacities.
SONET rings are transmission systems ideally laid out in physical rings for
the purpose of redundancy. The more redundant the fiber-optic network, the
more reliable it will be. For example, if a failure on a fiber-optic line
should occur, data transmission would be re-routed rather than lost. Optical
Carrier-12 (OC-12) SONET describes the rate of speed of the data transmission.
In this case OC-12 is twelve times the rate of OC-1 (51.840 million bits per
second).
Centennial will leverage FPL FiberNet's connectivity between the Americas
Region Caribbean Optical-ring System (ARCOS) cable station, which is primarily
owned by New World Networks, and the NAP of the Americas. Centennial, which
owns 4.8 percent of ARCOS, is registered as a competitive local exchange
carrier (CLEC) in Florida.
"We see this partnership as beneficial for both FPL FiberNet and
Centennial, especially considering the regional focus of both companies," said
Neil Flynn, president, FPL FiberNet. "Many service providers, like
Centennial, are acknowledging the market opportunity that exists in Florida's
metropolitan areas. We are pleased Centennial chose us over other providers
in the state and look forward to helping them build a solid service offering."
Carlos Bofill, CEO of Centennial Caribbean Operations, said, "When we
decided to expand into Florida, we wanted to partner with a wholesale carrier
that not only had the best technology to meet our needs, but also had the
financial stability to support our long-term goals. After evaluating the many
providers available to us, we chose FPL FiberNet who we believe can deploy our
services faster and can reach deeper into Florida's metropolitan areas than
any other wholesale carrier in the state."
About FPL FiberNet
FPL FiberNet, LLC, which operates one of the largest metropolitan-area
fiber-optic networks in the United States, provides connectivity to major
telecom centers in Florida, including leading carrier hotels, international
cable-heads and central offices. Through multiple interconnection and
partnership agreements, the network spans 10,000 miles throughout the
southeast. The company has completed fiber-optic networks in Miami, Fort
Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Jacksonville, Orlando, St. Petersburg
and Tampa as part of an aggressive schedule to deploy metro networks in major
cities throughout the state. FPL FiberNet, LLC, is the telecommunications
subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE: FPL).
FPL Group, with annual revenues of more than $8 billion, is nationally
known as a high-quality, efficient, and customer-driven organization, focused
on energy-related products and services. With a growing presence in more than
15 states, it is widely recognized as one of the country's premier power
companies. Its principal subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, serves
approximately 3.9 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, an
FPL Group energy-generating subsidiary is a leader in producing electricity
from clean and renewable fuels. FPL FiberNet, LLC is a provider of fiber-
optic networks in Florida. Additional information is available on the
Internet at http://www.fplgroup.com, http://www.fpl.com, http://www.fplenergy.com and
http://www.fplfibernet.com.
About Centennial Communications (Nasdaq: CYCL)
Centennial is one of the largest independent wireless telecommunications
service providers in the United States and the Caribbean with approximately
18.5 million Net Pops and 826,500 wireless subscribers. Centennial's U.S.
operations have approximately 6.0 million Net Pops in small cities and rural
areas. Centennial's Caribbean integrated communications operation owns and
operates wireless licenses for 12.4 million Net Pops in Puerto Rico, the
Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and provides voice,
data, video and Internet services on broadband networks in the region. Welsh,
Carson, Anderson & Stowe and an affiliate of The Blackstone Group are
controlling shareholders of Centennial. For more information regarding
Centennial, please visit our website at http://www.centennialcom.com.
SOURCE FPL FiberNet LLC
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