Cogent Celebrates Dual Milestones: Connects 1,000th Node in 1,000 Business Days; Celebrates 4th Anniversary of the Lighting of its Fiber Optic Network

Cogent Celebrates Dual Milestones: Connects 1,000th Node in 1,000 Business Days; Celebrates 4th Anniversary of the Lighting of its Fiber Optic Network

WASHINGTON, December 3/PRNewswire/ -- Cogent Communications Group, Inc. (Amex: COI), one of the fastest growing
Internet service providers in the industry, announced today that it has
directly connected the 1,000th on-net building to its state-of-the-art
network, at 53 State Street, the heart of Boston's financial center. Cogent
has achieved this milestone within 1,000 days of connecting its first node
and during a month in which it is also celebrating the fourth anniversary of
lighting its fiber optic network -- one that is owned and operated by Cogent
and runs completely autonomously from any other carrier.


(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020204/DCM032LOGO )


In just four years since lighting its fiber optic backbone, Cogent has
grown to serve over 5,000 business customers. This represents approximately
8% of all U.S. Internet traffic, based on a comparison of data with the
Digital Technology Center at the University of Minnesota. Cogent's first
customers were early adopters, eager to take advantage of the benefits of an
all IP network with large amounts of bandwidth at dramatic price reductions.
Cogent was the first commercial optical IP-only network in existence, and
today it remains among one of the most robust and largest IP data-only
networks in existence.


"We look forward to having Cogent's presence in 53 State Street," said
Dan Kindbergh, Brookfield Financial Properties. "Based on their success at
some of our other properties Cogent has demonstrated to us and to the market
that they deliver value by providing businesses with high quality bandwidth
at very competitive prices. This translates into an attractive service that
we want to promote to both our existing and prospective tenants."


"53 State Street is a perfect example of the type of building that Cogent
likes to connect to our network. It's significant in size, has a mix of
clients ranging from small organizations to large enterprises and it is owned
by Brookfield Properties, an owner that demonstrates a commitment to
providing tenants with the latest technology and services at a cost-effective
price," said Dave Schaeffer, CEO Cogent Communications. "Reaching these
milestones simultaneously really puts all of Cogent's accomplishments into
perspective. I do not think any other ISP has accomplished as much as we have
in the same amount of time."


During the past four years, Cogent constructed its own 21,000 mile fiber
optic IP network spanning 11 countries on two continents. The ISP established
a peering program to interconnect with approximately 650 other ISP networks
making it the 6th most robust internetworking program on the Internet.
(Peering is advantageous as it reduces network costs and speeds up the
delivery of data traffic to its destination through the establishment of
direct connections with other networks.) Its strategic growth strategy also
resulted in Cogent acquiring 12 other communication companies, adding
customers, network and critical equipment at a fraction of the cost it took
to build them.



About Cogent Communications


Cogent Communications (Amex: COI) is a next generation, multinational,
Tier 1 ISP. Its facilities based, all-optical network delivers ultra-high
speed Internet access and transport services to business and service
providers in major metropolitan areas across North America and Europe. Since
opening its doors in 1999, Cogent's elusive combination of high quality,
reliable, low cost bandwidth and superior customer support have enabled
Cogent to become one of the fastest growing ISPs in the industry. Cogent was
recently ranked as the number one fastest growing company in 2004 by the
Washington Business Journal.


Cogent Communications is headquartered at 1015 31st Street, NW,
Washington, D.C. 20007. For more information, visit http://www.cogentco.com.
Cogent Communications can be reached in the United States at +1-202-295-4200
or via email at info@cogentco.com.



Information in this release may involve expectations, beliefs, plans,
intentions or strategies regarding the future. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements
included in this release are based upon information available to Cogent
Communications Group, Inc. as of the date of the release, and we assume no
obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. The statements in
this release are not guarantees of future performance and actual results
could differ materially from our current expectations. Numerous factors could
cause or contribute to such differences. Some of the factors and risks
associated with our business are discussed in Cogent's registration
statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in its other
reports filed from time to time with the SEC.



Web site: http://www.cogentco.com




Source: Cogent Communications Group, Inc.

Jeff Henriksen of Cogent Communications Group, Inc., +1-202-550-5493, jhenriksen@cogentco.com; or Kristin Duskin-Gadd, +1-828-645-4846, kdg@interprosepr.com, for Cogent Communications Group, Inc.
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020204/DCM032LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com


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