Company Continues to Expand Its Internet and Colocation Services to Business
Customers in Underserved High-Growth Secondary Markets
BETHLEHEM, Pa., July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- FASTNET(R), (Nasdaq: FSST), a
growing Internet service and web hosting provider offering businesses
dedicated broadband Internet access and a suite of enhanced products and
services, today announced that they have opened an additional Customer Network
Facility(TM) (CNF(TM)) site in Worcester, Mass. The Company now operates CNF
sites in 20 high-growth secondary markets throughout the Northeast region of
the United States with plans to expand nationwide.
"Worcester, Mass., and the surrounding areas are now ready to take
advantage of FASTNET's unique, reliable and cost effective business Internet
solutions. Worcester joins our 19 other markets where we have placed our
Customer Network Facility sites that enable our customers to take full
advantage of our unique CNF site design. Our innovative approach to selling
and marketing in the larger secondary markets provides FASTNET a first mover
advantage with a large group of businesses that we believe are currently
underserved. Our technical advantage gained by locating the company's compact
and reliable data-centers or CNF sites in secondary markets has proven to
delight our customers year after year," said David Van Allen, FASTNET's Chief
Executive Officer.
The Company has opened CNF sites and deployed sales and marketing in
13 new markets since the beginning of the year and plans to enter seven
additional markets by year-end. The additional new markets will give FASTNET
a total of 27 operational secondary markets by year-end.
FASTNET is now taking orders for its Internet enabled and colocation
services through its newly constructed CNF in Worcester, Mass. and the Company
is actively selling these services in its existing markets. FASTNET currently
operates CNF sites in 19 other secondary markets. These include Allentown,
Pa., Harrisburg, Pa., Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Basking Ridge, N.J.,
Jersey City, N.J., Pennsauken, N.J., Phillipsburg, N.J., New Haven, Conn.,
Stamford, Conn., Cambridge, Mass., Albany, N.Y., Binghamton, N.Y.,
Rochester, N.Y., Syracuse, N.Y., Manchester, N.H., and the secondary markets
surrounding Baltimore, Md., Pittsburgh, Pa., Philadelphia, Pa., and
Washington D.C.
"By primarily targeting the small and medium sized enterprises in these
selected high-growth secondary markets, we are able to provide our customers
with a single-source Internet and data communications solution with responsive
local support where it previously might not have been available. This
strategy has set FASTNET apart from other providers and allows us to grow
while taking a leadership position in serving this important business
segment," said Van Allen.
About FASTNET Corporation
FASTNET(R) is a business Internet service, web hosting and colocation
provider based in Bethlehem, Pa. The Company is building broadband
infrastructure in high-growth secondary markets to provide high-speed,
dedicated and reliable Internet and data communications services to small and
medium sized enterprises (SME). These SME customers typically outsource most
of their data communications needs to FASTNET and become long-term customers.
Over the past five years the Company has been providing Internet services
to a growing number of customers that are located outside of the major
markets, where businesses typically find it challenging to locate a single
source solution for their Internet and data communications needs. FASTNET
targets its selling and marketing to customers on a regional basis, through a
central sales effort augmented by a regional or market-based sales and
technical support team.
FASTNET's network architecture is designed around the Company's regionally
placed Customer Network Facility(TM) (CNF(TM)) data centers. A CNF is a
small, yet high capacity data center with multiple high-speed connections to
worldwide Internet backbones such as WorldCom, Sprint, and AT&T. This
configuration allows our customers' connections to "multi-home" automatically
to the global tier-one Internet backbones without the added hops or additional
network overhead associated with many other designs. FASTNET CNF data
centers enable the Company to provide cost effective Internet enabled services
and our closest-to-the-edge colocation and hosting products. Customers can
connect to CNF data centers by any available carrier technology, such as
classic Telco provided T1 - OC-3 services, frame relay, Digital Subscriber
Line ("DSL") services or wireless products.
FASTNET's regions are carefully positioned in selected high-growth
secondary markets, normally 20-50 miles outside of major metropolitan areas.
FASTNET is building in new regions aggressively throughout the densely
populated northeast portion of the US as the company plans to expand
nationwide.
The Company offers a suite of value added enhanced services to its
directly connected customers, and in many cases, any business regardless of
their Internet service provider. These services include the Company's Total
Managed Security(TM) (TMS(TM)) product, a cost effective electronic security
solution that FASTNET monitors and manages 24 hours a day, email-based unified
messaging, virtual private networks, web hosting and high performance
colocation services.
The Company's common shares are listed on the Nasdaq National Market under
the symbol "FSST." For more information on FASTNET, visit the Company's web
site at http://www.fast.net or call 1-888-321-FAST(TM).
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains comments or information that constitute
forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995), which involve significant risks and
uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results
discussed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to
fluctuations in operating results, additional capital requirements,
competition, integration of acquisitions, history of losses, and
implementation of network infrastructure. You should review carefully the risk
factors set forth in our annual report on Form 10-K as filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The information contained herein is
current only as of the date of this release and we undertake no obligation to
update the information in this press release in the future.
SOURCE FASTNET
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.fast.net
CONTACT:
David Van Allen, CEO, email, dave@fast.net,
Stanley Bielicki, CFO, e-mail, stan@fast.net, 610-266-6700, both
of FASTNET; General Information, Mark Shaffer, 312-640-6763,
e-mail, mshaffer@frb.bsmg.com, Analysts-Investors, Lisa Fortuna,
312-640-6779, e-mail, lfortuna@frb.bsmg.com, Media, Tim Grace,
312-274-2240, e-mail, tgrace@frb.bsmg.com, all of The Financial
Relations Board
|
