Cogent Communications Acquires Aleron Broadband

Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (www.cogent.com) acquired the assets of Aleron Broadband Services, formally known as AGIS Internet, including its customer base and network.

"By acquiring assets at cents on the dollar, Cogent continues to add a significant number of customers and large amounts of traffic to our network," said Dave Schaeffer, CEO of Cogent Communications.

As part of Cogent's sixth acquisition of the year, Cogent will retain all 25 Aleron employees nationwide and will relocate Aleron offices from Virginia to Cogent's Georgetown headquarters.

Through the acquisition, Cogent has also received over $18 million in cash to be used for a variety of purposes including network expansion, marketing and sales activities in the U.S. and abroad, and the potential acquisition of additional assets.

Cogent has now acquired three of the original generation of Internet service providers (ISPs) including PSINet, NetRail, and Aleron (AGIS Internet). While these first generation ISPs made great contributions to the rapid growth and success of the Internet, their business models and networks could not keep pace with technology and market demands.

Adding the strategically acquired assets of ISPs to Cogent's innovative network and business model has further fueled its growth over the past five years, which recently culminated in Cogent's first-place ranking in the Washington Business Journal's 2004 fastest growing companies list.