KMC Telecom Provides State-of-the-Art Fiber Optic Network Facilities for Palm Tower of Sarasota

Business Wire, March 28, 2000

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

SARASOTA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2000

Intelligent Building Offers Fiber-Based Services at No Cost to Owners

KMC Telecom, a leading provider of competitive local telecommunications services, today announced that it has transformed the strategically located Palm Tower building on Main Street Sarasota into a "KMC Intelligent Building" by deploying advanced fiber optic networking facilities in it. The building, owned by Palm Tower of Sarasota, LLC, now provides state-of-the-art telecommunications services to the tenants.

A "KMC Intelligent Building" is created when KMC Telecom wires an existing building. KMC pays the cost of installing fiber optic network facilities, then offers competitively priced voice and data services to individual tenants.

"We're delighted to create a `KMC Intelligent Building' for Palm Tower of Sarasota," said Mark R. Van Dyke, City Director of KMC Telecom in Sarasota. "KMC Intelligent Buildings give tenants access to an array of applications, including high-speed Internet service, competitive dial tone and dedicated access. In addition, they prepare the building for an array of future applications such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and the ability to make calls over the Internet."

The Palm Tower located at 1343 Main Street, in downtown Sarasota, is an historic seven-story building housing varied businesses, including Sarasota News and Books co-owned by Richard Lobo, Managing Member of Palm Tower of Sarasota. KMC Telecom has already contracted with numerous clients in the building.

"Downtown Sarasota is thriving and attracting many businesses needing modern telecom facilities," said Lobo. "We understand that the advantage of having KMC Telecom wire Palm Tower is that it brings fiber into the building, providing state-of-the-art voice and data capabilities to our tenants, both low and high-tech, which are not available in a traditional copper-wired building."

With a significant investment in local fiber optic networks and all-digital voice and data switching equipment, KMC Telecom is among the first companies to bring choice in local telecommunications to smaller cities in the U.S. The company offers business customers its ClearStar(TM) integrated telephone services, ClearFiber(TM) high capacity, high-speed digitized voice, data and video communications, and ClearXpress(TM) switched voice services.

KMC Telecom Holdings, Inc., a privately owned facilities-based competitive local exchange carrier, operates state-of-the-art local fiber optic networks in 34 markets throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and South. Founded in 1995, the company offers customers superior alternatives in local telephone and data communication services. Visit our web site, www.kmctelecom.com for more information.