WASHINGTON, D.C., March 18, 2002 - Cogent Communications, a Tier One, optical ISP, today announced that several leading Universities have been able to vastly extend their IT budgets and better serve their students by connecting to Cogent's low-cost, 100 and 1,000 megabit Internet service.

Institutions such as Tufts University in Boston, Stanford University in Palo Alto, the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the George Washington University in Washington, DC are among the universities that are enjoying the benefits of the huge amounts of bandwidth provided by Cogent's non-oversubscribed Internet access.

With the emergence of peer-to-peer networking and other bandwidth-intensive applications used by students and faculty, university IT managers have had to balance the demand for an ample supply of bandwidth for tens of thousands of users with tight budgets required to keep tuition costs competitive. In many instances Cogent came in and replaced existing T-1 or T-3 lines served by legacy telco voice networks, thereby eliminating the bandwidth and budget headaches of the university IT managers and CIOs.

"We were caught in the serious dilemma of either failing to keep up with our users' needs or busting our budget," said Ron Bonig, executive director of technology operations at the George Washington University. "When Cogent presented us with the opportunity to try a significantly higher connection at an unheard of price, we jumped on it. Not only has the bandwidth been everything it was promised to be, the customer service is among the most knowledgeable we have ever dealt with."

"With 40,000 people depending on Internet connectivity 24/7, 365 days a year, it is great to know we have the bandwidth dedicated to cover our needs," said Michael Palladino, Associate Vice President of Networking & Telecommunications at the University of Pennsylvania. "By providing a 1,000 mbps connection at a flat rate of $10,000 per month, I know that there will be enough bandwidth for the entire campus and my budget forecasting suddenly became a whole lot easier without the hassle of daily or weekly provisioning."

At the University of Pennsylvania, Cogent was initially brought on for redundancy purposes. However the high level of service and reliability surprised Palladino and his staff. They have since increased their service from 100 Mbps to a full GigE connection (1,000 Mbps).

"Despite the fact that they usually run on a shoestring budget, college and university IT departments have to address enormous expectations regarding Internet access," said Dave Schaeffer, CEO, Cogent Communications. "Because we provide over 60 times the bandwidth of a traditional T-1 line at just $10 per megabit, we foresee many more metro-area colleges and universities signing on with Cogent in the near future."

Cogent's 17,400 mile long haul backbone and metropolitan network services 20 cities and runs independently of traditional carrier networks. Built specifically for IP data, Cogent avoids the huge costs associated with a SONET-protected voice infrastructure, enabling it to offer colleges and commercial end-user customers the lowest price per non-oversubscribed megabit in the country.

About Cogent Communications

Cogent Communications (AMEX: COI) is a next generation optical ISP focused on delivering ultra-high speed Internet access and transport services to businesses in the multi-tenant marketplace and to service providers located in major metropolitan areas across the United States. Cogent's signature service offered to commercial end-users of 100 Mbps for $1,000 per month, offers 100 times the observed bandwidth of a T-1 connection at up to two-thirds of the cost. The Cogent solution makes ultra-high speed Internet access an affordable reality for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large enterprises and service providers. Cogent's facilities-based, all-optical end-to-end IP network enables non-oversubscribed 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps connectivity for radically low, unmetered pricing levels.

Cogent's network consists of a dedicated nationwide multiple OC-192 fiber backbone, multiple intra-city OC-48 fiber rings, and optically-interfaced high-speed routers. Cogent has been recognized as the first IP Optical Cisco Powered Network (CPN). Cogent is currently servicing 20 metropolitan markets. Cogent Communications is headquartered at 1015 31st Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20007. For more information, visit www.cogentco.com. Cogent Communications can be reached at (202) 295-4200 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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