June 12, 2002 -- Interconnection provider PAIX.net, Inc. said today that EarthLink will establish a presence in PAIX facilities in Atlanta, San Francisco and Seattle as part of its network expansion.
EarthLink, with over 4.9 million customers nationwide, will use PAIX's facilities to enhance its public and private peering, gaining immediate access to the networks of nearly 200 ISPs and carriers in the three markets.
"We see EarthLink's presence here as a win for both EarthLink and our customers," said Tim Guarnieri, vice president and general manager of PAIX.net, Inc. "Our participants in all three facilities will realize an added value in having access to EarthLink' s vast network and growing customer base. In turn, EarthLink will have an open door to an array of Internet- centric companies with which it can conduct business."
"EarthLink's participation at the PAIX facilities will play a significant role in our commitment to provide the best service to our customers," said Kevin Brand, vice president of network services at EarthLink. "The PAIX open and neutral peering facilities will enable Earthlink to cost-effectively establish connectivity to many of the networks that our customers access the most."
In Atlanta, EarthLink has contracted for a port on PAIX's Layer 2 switch fabric, providing access to other PAIX participants, including Switch and Data customers who connect to the PAIX switch fabric through a "Peering by PAIX" alliance.
EarthLink's presence in Palo Alto will give it the opportunity to exchange traffic with all participants on PAIX's comprehensive Bay Area peering infrastructure, which extends from San Francisco to San Jose.
In Seattle, EarthLink is participating in the recently announced PAIX-Seattle Internet Exchange (SIX) connection to exchange traffic with PAIX's Seattle customers.
PAIX.net, Inc. is a subsidiary of Metropolitan Fiber Network, and was among the units included in MFN's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on May 20. Earlier this year, MFN announced a tentative agreement to sell PAIX.net to an unnamed provider for about $50 million, but no deal has been announced.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, PAIX.net began operations in 1996 as Digital Equipment Corporation 's Palo Alto Internet Exchange. PAIX serves as a packet switching center for ISPs, and also offers colocation services.