Atlantic.Net Named Among Inc 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

GAINESVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2002

Atlantic.Net (http://www.atlantic.net), Florida's largest privately held Internet service provider, has been named one of America's fastest-growing private companies by Inc magazine for the third year in a row. This year, Atlantic.Net ranks number 269 on the Inc 500, a roster of the country's fastest-growing private companies based on sales growth from 1997 through 2001. Noteworthy Inc 500 alumni include Microsoft, Timberland and Domino's Pizza.

During the past 20 years, fewer than 6 percent of the winners have been named to the list three times. Atlantic.Net is one of only 31 Florida-based companies to make the 2002 Inc 500 and is the state's only Internet service provider to be honored.

"This honor is especially meaningful to us because it recognizes the fact that our company has grown despite the many challenges we've faced in our industry during the past 12 months," said Marty Puranik, president and CEO of Atlantic.Net. "The market difficulties of this past year have required us to adapt to change and have helped us focus even more closely on creating real value for our customers. This recognition proves that while many of our competitors have gone out of business and faded away, we've successfully maneuvered through the tough times and survived, stronger and smarter."

The Inc 500 award is one of several recent growth announcements from Atlantic.Net. Last week, the company announced it had doubled its sales presence and added a sales manager in its Orlando office. In September, the company announced it had expanded its Southeastern network reach through an agreement with Progress Telecom, a Florida-based provider of wholesale broadband services and a subsidiary of Progress Energy. The agreement also enables the company to pass along additional customer benefits including cost savings, faster provisioning, greater scalability and priority customer support.

"We're extremely excited about the opportunities that lie ahead," said Cameron Clayton, the company's director of sales and marketing. "We're financially stable and profitable, we offer technologically superior products and outstanding customer service and we have shown a unique ability to adapt quickly to changes in the marketplace in order to meet our customers' needs. More than ever before, we're in a position to give customers across Florida and the Southeast the power to choose an Internet provider that will be around to serve their needs today and tomorrow."

Atlantic.Net offers high-speed Internet access, Web site services, telecommunications and dial-up. To learn more about Atlantic.Net, call 800/422-2936 or visit http://www.atlantic.net.

About Atlantic.Net

Launched in 1994 by two University of Florida students, Atlantic.Net is an Internet service provider offering high-speed Internet access, Web site solutions, telecommunications and dial-up. Atlantic.Net business services feature a 99.9 percent uptime guarantee, 24/7 network monitoring and connection to an optimized Cisco Powered Network -- a designation reserved for the world's top 1 percent of ISPs. In 2001 Atlantic.Net was named to the Inc 500 list of the nation's fastest-growing private companies for the second consecutive year, moving up from a rank of 350 to 223. During the past eight years Atlantic.Net has acquired 13 Internet companies, has doubled or tripled revenues annually and has remained profitable every year since inception. Atlantic.Net is headquartered in Gainesville and has offices in Orlando and Tampa.