AboveNet
Encyclopedia
AboveNet, Inc. provides high bandwidth
connectivity
primarily for large corporate enterprises and communications carriers. AboveNet operates private metro area and long haul optical networks, and offers services including high bandwidth metro access to WDM
, Metro Ethernet
, VPN and IP
networks, and managed services. The company is headquartered in White Plains, New York
, with European operations based in London
.
to communications carrier customers in the U.S. and Europe. In 1997, the company changed its name to Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. (“MFN”), and was a member of the NASDAQ-100
index.
In 1999, MFN acquired AboveNet Communications, Inc., a data center facility and Internet connectivity provider, as well as its subsidiary PAIX.net, Inc. (PAIX
), an operator of Internet peering
exchanges. In 2000, MFN acquired M.I.B.H., Inc., a networking consultancy operated by Paul Vixie
, for $51 million in cash and stock. In 2001, MFN acquired SiteSmith, Inc., a provider of managed web-hosting services. The combined entity provided a range of services for the Internet market, including metropolitan area network
s, data center
s and IP network services, with former M.I.B.H. employees taking key engineering and operational positions.
As a result of the collapse of the dot-com bubble
, MFN — like many other similar companies — entered a severe liquidity crisis
. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2002. As part of the Chapter 11 process the company sold off non-core assets, including its data centers, in the U.S. and mainland Europe, retaining a smaller but more viable footprint. The reorganized company changed its name to AboveNet when emerging from bankruptcy in September 2003, and now trades on the New York Stock Exchange as .
AboveNet offers several varieties of MAN services, including Metro WDM, Core Wave / dcXchange, Metro Ethernet
, and Customer Managed Private Fiber Connectivity.
(WAN) Wide Area Network Solutions:
WAN
services include Metro IP, IP Transit, VPN, and long haul optical transport.
Bandwidth (computing)
In computer networking and computer science, bandwidth, network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth is a measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bits/second or multiples of it .Note that in textbooks on wireless communications, modem data transmission,...
connectivity
Telecommunication circuit
A telecommunication circuit is any line, conductor, or other conduit by which information is transmitted.A dedicated circuit, private circuit, or leased line is a line that is dedicated to only one use...
primarily for large corporate enterprises and communications carriers. AboveNet operates private metro area and long haul optical networks, and offers services including high bandwidth metro access to WDM
WDM
WDM is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:* Warm dark matter* Warm dense matter* Wavelength-division multiplexing* wdm, the WINGs Display Manager* West Des Moines, Iowa* Western Development Museum of Saskatchewan...
, Metro Ethernet
Metro Ethernet
A Metro Ethernet is a computer network that covers a metropolitan area and that is based on the Ethernet standard. It is commonly used as a metropolitan access network to connect subscribers and businesses to a larger service network or the Internet...
, VPN and IP
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
networks, and managed services. The company is headquartered in White Plains, New York
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
, with European operations based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
History
Founded in 1993 as National Fiber Network, Inc., the company initially focused on providing dark fiberDark fiber
A dark fiber or unlit fiber is an unused Optical fiber, available for use in fiber-optic communication.The term dark fiber was originally used when referring to the potential network capacity of telecommunication infrastructure, but now also refers to the increasingly common practice of leasing...
to communications carrier customers in the U.S. and Europe. In 1997, the company changed its name to Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. (“MFN”), and was a member of the NASDAQ-100
NASDAQ-100
The NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index of 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ. It is a modified capitalization-weighted index. The companies' weights in the index are based on their market capitalizations, with certain rules capping the influence of the largest components...
index.
In 1999, MFN acquired AboveNet Communications, Inc., a data center facility and Internet connectivity provider, as well as its subsidiary PAIX.net, Inc. (PAIX
PAIX
PAIX, the Peering And Internet eXchange, is a neutral Internet exchange point operated by Switch and Data.PAIX began operations in 1996 as Palo Alto Internet Exchange in Palo Alto, California, and was owned and operated by Digital Equipment Corporation, or DEC...
), an operator of Internet peering
Peering
In computer networking, peering is a voluntary interconnection of administratively separate Internet networks for the purpose of exchanging traffic between the customers of each network. The pure definition of peering is settlement-free or "sender keeps all," meaning that neither party pays the...
exchanges. In 2000, MFN acquired M.I.B.H., Inc., a networking consultancy operated by Paul Vixie
Paul Vixie
Paul Vixie is an American Internet pioneer, the author of several RFCs and well-known Unix software.Vixie attended George Washington High School in San Francisco, California. He received a Ph.D in computer science from Keio University in 2011....
, for $51 million in cash and stock. In 2001, MFN acquired SiteSmith, Inc., a provider of managed web-hosting services. The combined entity provided a range of services for the Internet market, including metropolitan area network
Metropolitan area network
A metropolitan area network is a computer network that usually spans a city or a large campus. A MAN usually interconnects a number of local area networks using a high-capacity backbone technology, such as fiber-optical links, and provides up-link services to wide area networks and the...
s, data center
Data center
A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems...
s and IP network services, with former M.I.B.H. employees taking key engineering and operational positions.
As a result of the collapse of the dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
, MFN — like many other similar companies — entered a severe liquidity crisis
Liquidity crisis
In financial economics, liquidity is a catch-all term that may refer to several different yet closely related concepts. Among other things, it may refer to Asset Market liquidity In financial economics, liquidity is a catch-all term that may refer to several different yet closely related...
. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2002. As part of the Chapter 11 process the company sold off non-core assets, including its data centers, in the U.S. and mainland Europe, retaining a smaller but more viable footprint. The reorganized company changed its name to AboveNet when emerging from bankruptcy in September 2003, and now trades on the New York Stock Exchange as .
Services
(MAN) Metro Area Network Solutions:AboveNet offers several varieties of MAN services, including Metro WDM, Core Wave / dcXchange, Metro Ethernet
Metro Ethernet
A Metro Ethernet is a computer network that covers a metropolitan area and that is based on the Ethernet standard. It is commonly used as a metropolitan access network to connect subscribers and businesses to a larger service network or the Internet...
, and Customer Managed Private Fiber Connectivity.
(WAN) Wide Area Network Solutions:
WAN
WAN
WAN may refer to:* Wide area network * World Association of Newspapers* Wanborough railway station in England, which has the station code WAN...
services include Metro IP, IP Transit, VPN, and long haul optical transport.