AboveNet

AboveNet, Inc.

Type	Subsidiary of Zayo Group
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	1993 as National Fiber Network, 1997 as Metromedia Fiber Networks, 2003 as AboveNet
Headquarters	White Plains, New York, United States
Key people	William G. LaPerch, President and CEO; Robert Sokota, SVP, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer; John Jacquay, SVP of Sales and Marketing; Rajiv Datta, COO; Douglas M. Jendras, SVP of Operations; Joseph P. Ciavarella, CFO; John Donaldson, UK Managing Director, AboveNet Communications UK Ltd.
Products	MAN, WAN
Number of employees	Approximately 600
Website	www.above.net

AboveNet, Inc. provides high bandwidth connectivity primarily for large corporate enterprises and communications carriers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. AboveNet operates private metro area and long haul optical networks, and offers services including high bandwidth metro access to WDM, Metro Ethernet, VPN and networks, and managed services. The company is headquartered in White Plains, New York, with European operations based in London.

The company was purchased by Zayo Group in 2012.

Founded in 1993 as National Fiber Network, Inc., the company initially focused on providing dark fiber to communications carrier customers in the U.S. and Europe. In 1997, the company changed its name to Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. (“MFN”), and was a member of the NASDAQ-100 index.

In 1999, MFN acquired AboveNet Communications, Inc., a data center facility and Internet connectivity provider, as well as its subsidiary PAIX.net, Inc. (PAIX), an operator of Internet peering exchanges. In 2000, MFN acquired M.I.B.H., Inc., a networking consultancy operated by Paul Vixie, for $51 million in cash and stock. In 2001, MFN acquired SiteSmith, Inc., a provider of managed web-hosting services. The combined entity provided a range of services for the Internet market, including metropolitan area networks, data centers and IP network services, with former M.I.B.H. employees taking key engineering and operational positions.

As a result of the collapse of the dot-com bubble, MFN — like many other similar companies — entered a severe liquidity crisis. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2002. As part of the Chapter 11 process the company sold off non-core assets, including its data centers, in the U.S. and mainland Europe, retaining a smaller but more viable footprint. The reorganized company changed its name to AboveNet when emerging from bankruptcy in September 2003, and traded on the New York Stock Exchange as ABVT.