Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading provider of outsourced e-business infrastructure services and software, today announced a milestone with the expanded deployment of its globally distributed 'edge' servers to over 1,000 networks, including large backbone providers, ISPs, broadband-enabled providers, enterprise networks, university and state networks, and other telecommunications facilities.

In just over two and one half years, Akamai has scaled its network from a few hundred servers in a handful of networks, to creating the world's largest distributed computing platform that interconnects over 1,000 network partners. Akamai's industrial-scale platform has been built by installing low cap-ex, off-the-shelf servers, equipped with Akamai-developed software, within networks on all continents except Antarctica. The expansion of Akamai's network has been achieved not only at a record pace, but also enables Akamai to provide a significant ROI to both network partners and customers.

"Akamai has moved from creating a content delivery network overlay to becoming extensively integrated into the Internet, with an ubiquitous presence that today serves traffic from all corners of the globe," said Jonathan Stefansky, vice president of network infrastructure and architecture, Akamai. "With an extremely low capital-intensive model, we've been able to expand our network quickly and cost-effectively, resulting in improved performance and scalability for customers. We are now in a position to focus all future installations in areas of strategic benefit to our customers, while maintaining a revenue-generating technology platform."

As the world's largest distributed computing platform able to assemble, present, and deliver all forms of content and applications from the edges of the Internet, close to end users, notable distinctions include:

-- Universal deployment of over 13,000 servers in 63 countries
-- Extensive global coverage that also spans some of the world's most remote locations including Estonia, Faeroe Islands, Honduras, Kenya, Malta, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
-- Deployment within all leading Tier One networks throughout the world
-- Broadest reach in broadband-enabled networks, including academic and research networks, RBOCs, and multicable system operators
-- With its massive network deployment, Akamai has unparalleled insight from the Internet's core to the edge, making it a leading authority on network optimization

Akamai's decentralized, distributed platform overcomes the inherent problems of the Internet's centralized architecture, which requires moving content from network to network. Akamai minimizes these peer-to-peer issues, eliminating any single points of failure, placing content and applications closest to users, for 100 percent reliability. Today's leading networks have responded positively to partnering with Akamai due in part to the incredible value proposition of installing Akamai servers - enhanced delivery of data and applications and improved bandwidth efficiency - which in turn, provides increased value to their customers.

"As an Akamai network partner, Electric Lightwave is able to greatly improve content response times to its customers, providing an invaluable, transparent benefit," said Jed Brintzenhoff, product manager, IP services, Electric Lightwave. "The deployment of Akamai servers on our OC-48 backbone enables ELI to handle traffic surges and scale quickly and efficiently to meet the content demands of our customers."