Verio Named Preferred Provider to Deliver Advanced Broadband Services for Research and Educational Consortium

PITTSBURGH & ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Jan 14, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Verio, a leader in global IP solutions, today announced it has been selected as an authorized provider of high performance network services for The Quilt's Commodity Internet Services (CIS) project, a project sponsored by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID).

The Quilt provides a forum for communication among advanced regional network organizations, UCAID and others dedicated to advancing research and education in the United States, such as higher learning institutions and large research universities. The CIS aggregates the buying power of The Quilt participants to get the best value and lowest priced commodity Internet services.

"The Quilt participants serve over a hundred institutions, whose aggregatedw bandwidth requirements for commodity Internet service are expected to grow to more than 17 gigabits per second in the next year," said Gwendolyn Huntoon, executive director of The Quilt. "The high performance, NTT/VERIO advanced networking solutions designed for large organizations will provide the speed and capacity The Quilt's institutions require to move large amounts of data quickly and reliably, and bring the power of this technology to bear on their organizations' service delivery."

Specific parameters were met by Verio prior to its selection as an authorized provider for the CIS project, including:

-- National pricing for The Quilt participants;
-- Peering, including number and location of public and private
peering points;
-- Availability of advanced services such as Multicast and IPv6;
and
-- Backbone and support services.

" NTT/VERIO advanced network services are gaining tremendous traction in the education and research sectors as we continue to enhance our portfolio. Our selection as an authorized partner for The Quilt is evidence of this," said Mike Stewart, president of Verio Broadband Services business unit. "The Quilt's CIS project is at the forefront of networking technologies for the educational and research sector and we look forward to working with the top institutions in the country to deliver on their objectives."

About The Quilt

The Quilt gathers over twenty leading research and education networking organizations in the United States to promote consistent, reliable, interoperable and efficient advanced networking services that extend to the broadest possible community; and to represent common interests in the development and delivery of advanced network services. Participants in The Quilt provide network service for over 150 Internet2 universities and thousands of other educational institutions. The University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), a university-led research and development consortium, provides organizational support for The Quilt. For more information, see: http://www.thequilt.net/

About Verio

Verio Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT Communications (NTT Com), which provides long distance and international telecommunications reaching over 200 countries worldwide. Verio is the world's largest operator of Web sites for businesses and a leading provider of global IP solutions. NTT Com and Verio market their global IP solutions under the NTT/VERIO brand. The company offers businesses a broad range of Internet services, including Web hosting, dedicated access, virtual private networks, and managed service offerings, among other enhanced services. Verio supports its operations with highly reliable and scalable global infrastructure and systems including the NTT/VERIO Global IP Network, and provides Web hosting services to customers in more than 170 countries. The combination of Verio and NTT Com offers services to meet the growing and diverse needs of all businesses, including small to medium businesses, large global enterprises and multi-national corporations.