XO Communications, one of the world's fastest growing providers of broadband communications services, and Akamai, the leading Content Delivery Service Provider (CDSP), today announced the companies have entered into strategic agreements to enhance Web site performance for customers.

As part of the alliance, XO will provide Akamai with interconnection bandwidth related services based on SONET architecture transmitting data at speeds of OC-3 (155 Mbps) and OC-12 (622 Mbps). In addition, XO will provide co-location space in its data centers for the deployment of additional Akamai servers. XO's interconnection bandwidth related services and hosting capabilities help Akamai to expand its reach to enable users to benefit from improved performance and accelerated delivery of the Web's most popular streaming media, software applications and content served on Akamai's globally distributed network.

Under a separate agreement, XO will provide value-added Internet services for customers by offering Akamai's full suite of content delivery services, including EdgeSuiteSM, Akamai's mission-critical service that includes the dynamic assembly of complete Web pages on its distributed computing platform. By offering Akamai's services, XO customers will be able to realize the cost-saving benefits of increased scalability and consistent Web site availability via Akamai's globally distributed network.

"Our relationship with Akamai exemplifies XO's commitment to expanding our strategic relationships with leading companies and illustrates XO's momentum in moving 'up-market' as a data-centric communications company," said Nancy Gofus, XO Executive Vice President of Marketing and Customer Care. "By offering Akamai's suite of Internet content delivery services in addition to our Web hosting and data center capabilities, we are dramatically simplifying our customers' requirements for delivering high-quality Web experiences to those viewing their Web site. We're pleased to offer the benefits of Akamai's services as part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible performance and reliability to our customers."

XO will offer content delivery services through its 1,100+ person direct and national sales channels and will engage in a variety of co-marketing activities with Akamai. The addition of content delivery services is another step in the expansion of the high-end data products and services offered by XO. In the past six months, XO has introduced high-capacity access solutions including Gigabit Ethernet and Metro Wavelength Services and has watched its revenue per subscriber grow by more than 40 percent over the past year.

"We are pleased to be teaming with XO and believe that its extensive fiber network reach and broad customer base makes this alliance a significant one for Akamai," said Chris Turner, Akamai's Vice President of Worldwide Channel Distribution. "With the increased demand for our content delivery solutions, top service providers like XO, with its robust metrofiber network and rich data center capabilities, help us expand our offerings into new markets and increase the breadth of our network. Akamai and XO provide complementary technologies for leading businesses, and we are excited to work together to offer optimized solutions for customers."

Akamai's EdgeSuite offering is an integrated suite of services that allows Web sites to reap the performance, scalability, and reliability benefits of content delivery across an entire Web site, including static and dynamic content, embedded objects, streaming media, and HTML.