Cogent Communications, a Tier One, optical ISP, today announced that they have connected their dedicated IP-only national network -- the nation's largest at 80 Gbps -- to the Switch and Data colocation facility in Reston, Virginia, bringing dedicated, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity to Northern Virginia. Within hours of activation of the connection, ePHONE Telecom, a Switch and Data customer based in Herndon, VA, extended their contract with Cogent and had 100 Mbps Internet service turned up in Reston.

"Both Cogent and Switch and Data are huge enablers for ePHONE. The combination of Cogent's quality and low price with Switch and Data's national locations and top-notch services allow ePHONE to offer a very compelling and cost-effective solution for data and voice services over a high quality fully integrated IP-based network," said Carmine Taglialatela Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of ePHONE Telecom. "The fact that we were connected in a day only underscores the professionalism of both organizations."

"Through Switch and Data's interconnection capabilities to over 120 diverse networks, our business enabling model gives customers, like ePHONE and Cogent, the ability to reach their customers and/or suppliers," said Patricia Higgins, Chief Executive Officer of Switch and Data. "We are a marketplace, the catalyst, where our customer can prosper through the exchange of goods and services."

"When you can create a win-win situation, you tend to be satisfied, but when you can create a win-win-win situation, you get real excited. And in this situation, Cogent couldn't be happier with the outcome. We have a customer that is extremely pleased with our service and price point, and we have a very satisfied colocation partner that has come to know that our service provider price of $30 per megabit attracts customers," said Dave Schaeffer, CEO Cogent Communications.