PAIX Announces New Technical Advisory Board

Business Wire, August 3, 1999

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 1999--

PAIX.net, Inc, the first neutral commercial Internet Exchange, today announced its new technical advisory board comprised of a distinguished group of international Internet veterans.

PAIX formed this group of experts to insure that its policy of neutrality toward its customers as well as its technical excellence would be continued and strengthened overall as it expands domestically and globally. Paul Vixie, who will chair this new board, worked with Digital Equipment Corporation to design PAIX and is one of the pioneers of the concept of an Internet Exchange.

PAIX was recently acquired by AboveNet Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABOV), and operates as a separate entity with its own board of directors and management. PAIX's customers include: @Home Network, Inc., Blue Mountain Arts, Deutsche Telekom North America, Hong Kong Telecom, GTE Internetworking, Qwest Communications, Teleglobe International, UUNET Technologies, Inc., and Verio, Inc.

The PAIX technical advisory board will foster the continued popularity of PAIX among leading ISPs and content providers, strengthening the Internet infrastructure. This advisory board will independently verify that PAIX continues to use a single set of unbiased policies for all of its ISP and content provider customers, allowing them to establish agreements, which are appropriate to their individual business models, among themselves and with the telecommunications companies at the exchange. In addition, it will guide PAIX as it continues to review new technologies, emerging trends in the Internet industry, and evolving industry standards that may have an impact on PAIX customers and its operation.

The initial members of the PAIX advisory board are:

Paul Vixie -- Chairman of the PAIX Technical Advisory Board and member of PAIX's board of directors. Vixie is president of M.I.B.H., LLC, a network operations company headquartered in Redwood City, California, he contributed significantly toward the conception and design of PAIX.

Stephen Stuart -- Chief technology officer of M.I.B.H., LLC. Stuart was a principal architect of PAIX during his tenure with Digital Equipment Corporation.

Bill Manning -- Member of technical staff at Information Science Institute (ISI), a research organization within the University of Southern California that is dedicated to the development of advanced computer and communication technologies.

Lauren Nowlin -- International peering coordinator at Pacific Gateway Exchange, located in Burlingame, California.

Geoff Huston -- Vice president at Telstra Corporation, headquartered in Australia.

"As one of PAIX's founders, I am pleased to see its original vision of technical excellence, and its groundbreaking policies of neutrality toward all carriers and customers upheld by the creation of this new board," said Paul Vixie, chairman of the PAIX Technical Advisory Board. "Our main mission will be to ensure that both newcomers to the Internet as well as mature providers, whether large or small, have a secure, reliable place to exchange traffic and further their business objectives."

"PAIX has the enviable reputation of being the best place for ISPs to peer on the Internet," said Laura Z. Hendriksen, general manager of PAIX. "With this exceptional group of international Internet experts guiding our future development, we will be able to outperform our customers expectations as we expand in the U.S. and worldwide."

PAIX is the only major commercial Internet Exchange not owned by a telecommunications carrier. ISPs at the PAIX facility can establish peering relationships with other ISPs to route traffic via public or private inter-connects, thereby reducing congestion on the Internet and providing optimal service. In addition, PAIX is the only major commercial Internet Exchange to offer ISPs a choice of telecommunications carriers from whom to buy transit for their traffic. This choice gives ISPs the freedom to negotiate the best price for their transit, and to enhance the reliability of their service by using multiple carriers.

About PAIX.net, Inc.

PAIX.net, Inc., headquartered in Palo Alto, California, was conceived and built by Digital Equipment Corporation and began operations in 1996. As a vital part of the Internet infrastructure, PAIX serves as a packet switching center for ISPs. PAIX also offers secure, fault-tolerant co-location services to ISPs and multi-homed content providers. PAIX is the only major commercial IX that is not owned by a telecommunications carrier, which enables ISPs at PAIX to form public and private peering relationships with each other and chose from multiple telecommunications carriers for transit -- all within the same facility. PAIX is owned by AboveNet Communications, Inc. (ABOV). To ensure its neutrality, it is managed as a separate entity with its own management, board of directors and advisory board. For additional information about PAIX, call 877-PAIXnet (877/724-9638) or visit its Web site at www.paix.net.