Alidian Optical Equipment Completes Testing With Metromedia Fiber Network for Use in Multi-service Metro Networks.

Business/High-Tech Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2001

Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc. (Nasdaq:MFNX) (MFN) has tested Alidian Networks' Optical Services Network (OSN) product family for customer use on MFN's metropolitan-area fiber network.

The testing was conducted over several weeks using Alidian's OSN add/drop multiplexer platforms on an MFN customer network that connected multiple MFN sites in the New York City metropolitan area. The network carried multi-service traffic, including ATM, SONET and IP, running concurrently on a single fiber at wire speed. MFN has also tested the Alidian OSN products for interoperability with dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) systems, TDM cross-connects, ATM switches and IP routers made by industry leaders including Nortel, Lucent and Cisco.

Ed Forker, senior vice president of enterprise sales for Metromedia Fiber Network, said, "MFN is committed to supporting the growth of new, quality optical equipment vendors that will help to lower the fiber utilization cost. Alidian's OSN family has demonstrated very efficient fiber utilization through its WavePack and WaveSwitch technologies, which allow multiple traffic types to be carried across a single wavelength, and added or dropped at any point."

Robert Lefkowits, Alidian vice president of marketing, said, "MFN has established itself as the premier purveyor of fiber-optic infrastructure to the CLECs (competitive local exchange carriers) and service providers who constitute the bulk of Alidian's business. Our experience with MFN will give Alidian a significant boost now that we have moved into production shipments of our equipment. We are delighted to be working with MFN to provide our mutual customers a way to offer reliable, profit-generating services."

About Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc.

Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc., the leader in deployment of optical IP Internet infrastructure within key metropolitan areas domestically and internationally, is revolutionizing the fiber-optic industry. By offering virtually unlimited, unmetered metro-area communications capacity at a fixed cost, Metromedia Fiber Network is eliminating the bandwidth barrier and redefining the way broadband capacity is sold.

MFN's optical network enables its customers to implement the latest data, video, Internet and multimedia applications. Through its subsidiaries AboveNet Communications, Inc., the architect of the Internet Service Exchange (ISX), PAIX.net, Inc., the first and leading neutral Internet exchange, and SiteSmith, a leader in delivering comprehensive Internet infrastructure managed services, MFN is a leading provider of Internet connectivity, co-location and managed services solutions for high-bandwidth and business-critical applications. The Company offers a world-class network that provides co-location services and Internet connectivity for content providers, ISPs and application service providers. Its global optical Internet uses open peering and "best exit" technology to deliver fast, scaleable and reliable connections to the Internet, and improves the Internet experience for end-users.

For more information on AboveNet and its service offering visit the company's Web site at www.above.net. For more information about PAIX.net, Inc., visit the company's Web site at www.paix.net. For more information about SiteSmith, visit the company's Web site at www.sitesmith.com. For more information about Metromedia Fiber Network, please visit the company's Web site at www.mmfn.com.

About Alidian

Formed in August 1998, Alidian has developed the Optical Service Network (OSN) family, which combines electronics and photonics to permit comprehensive service delivery, breadth and awareness within a single highly scalable architecture for the dynamic metropolitan-area network (MAN) environment. Able to augment the legacy SONET ADM infrastructure yet offer service providers increased efficiency and cost savings as capacity grows and new services are deployed, OSN devices can be deployed in a variety of physical and logical topologies. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Alidian has an R&D center in Atlanta, Ga., and a technical assistance center in Clearwater, Fla. For more information, call 408/273-4700 or visit the Alidian Networks Web site at www.alidian.com.