Electric Lightwave and Akamai Form Strategic Alliance to Provide Superior Content Delivery Over Electric Lightwave's Broadband Network.

Business/Technology Editors

Fall ISPCON 2000

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2000

Electric Lightwave, Inc. (NASDAQ:ELIX), a broadband integrated communications provider, and Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading Content Delivery Service Provider (CDSP), today announced a strategic alliance aimed at enhancing the quality, performance and reliability of rich content served to end users via Electric Lightwave's Internet backbone.

Akamai will deploy servers in multiple, geographically dispersed, Electric Lightwave data centers and ISP points-of-presence (POPs) to accelerate the delivery of rich content and improve the quality of streaming media from thousands of Akamaized(SM) Web properties.

"The deployment of Akamai servers within our network will enable Electric Lightwave to speed up download times and provide rapid delivery of bandwidth-intensive content via our Internet backbone to our customers," said Geoff Williams, network architect at Electric Lightwave. "Ultimately, by pairing up with Akamai, we will be able to enhance the total end user experience."

Akamai's globally distributed network of servers enables the delivery of all forms of content, including live and on-demand streaming media, as well as applications. Through this relationship with Electric Lightwave, Akamai is continuing to expand its global network of servers, pushing content ever-closer to Internet end users for high performance results.

"The collaborative efforts of Akamai and Electric Lightwave underscore both companies' commitment to offering content providers and end users a better Internet experience," said Avi Freedman, chief network architect, Akamai. "Electric Lightwave's national presence and expanding user base make it an ideal network partner and we look forward to delivering the benefits of exceptional Web performance to its subscribers."

The Akamai Accelerated Network program has attracted ISPs from around the world to co-locate Akamai edge servers within ISP POPs. By placing servers close to end users inside an ISP network, Akamai enables its Accelerated Network Partners to reduce the amount of bandwidth needed to deliver requested Web pages that include rich content, streaming media and software downloads. As a result, much of the world's most popular content, from today's top Web sites using Akamai's services, will be delivered from within an ISP's network.

About Electric Lightwave

Electric Lightwave Inc. (NASDAQ: ELIX) is a broadband integrated communications provider of Internet, data, voice and dedicated access services to bandwidth-intensive businesses and the growing online business community. The company owns and operates a nationally acclaimed Internet and data network as well as high-speed fiber optic networks that interconnect major markets in the West. Headquartered in Vancouver, Wash., the company employs 1,195 and generated revenues of $187 million in 1999, up 85 percent from 1998. Additional information about Electric Lightwave is located on the Web at www.eli.net. The company is 86 percent owned by Citizens Communications (NYSE:CZN, CZNPr).

About Akamai

Akamai is the leading Content Delivery Service Provider serving over 2,800 customers worldwide. Akamai has the broadest deployment of servers for content, streaming media, and applications delivery with more than 6,000 servers in 54 countries directly connected within 335 different telecommunications networks.

Akamai Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act 

The release contains information about future expectations, plans and prospects of Akamai's management that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, the failure of the new service offerings described herein to achieve commercial success or viability, the dependence on Akamai's Internet content delivery service, a failure of its network infrastructure, the complexity of its service and the networks on which the service is deployed, the failure to obtain access to transmission capacity and other factors that are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents periodically filed with the SEC.