FPL FiberNet, LLC, a subsidiary of FPL Group , today announced an agreement to lease a portion of its fiber optic network in Florida to BellSouth . Under the terms of the agreement, FPL FiberNet will be one of the providers of dark fiber to connect BellSouth's FloridaMIX high-speed Internet exchange, or network access point (NAP), to connection points throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties within the State of Florida.

Dark fiber is unused fiber through which no light or signals are passing. After leasing dark fiber, companies then use their own electronics and signal equipment to make the fiber usable on FPL FiberNet's network. BellSouth's lease and the subsequent installation of this fiber prepares the way for the next generation of Internet infrastructure to support increasing numbers of Internet service companies and quickly emerging services, including voice over Internet Protocol (IP), video over Internet, and other digital media and broadband applications. This will provide carrier and route diversity to the FloridaMIX's high-speed dense-wave division multiplexing (DWDM) and switched optical backbone network.

"By using FPL FiberNet's fiber, the network carriers interconnecting to the FloridaMIX will have access to a high-speed, fully redundant fiber-optic solution," said Neil Flynn, president of FPL FiberNet. "The BellSouth FloridaMIX initiative is perfectly timed to take advantage of the tremendous demand growing across the country and into Latin America and the Caribbean for bandwidth speed and performance."

About FPL FiberNet

FPL FiberNet is a leading provider of world-class fiber-optic network solutions in Florida. The company provides connectivity to major telecom centers in the state, including leading carrier hotels (a building that houses many local long-distance telephone companies providing voice, data, Internet and video services), network access point (NAP) initiatives, international cable-heads and large central offices. FPL FiberNet provides dark fiber and bandwidth on its fiber-optic network in most metropolitan cities throughout Florida. Through multiple interconnection and partnership agreements, the network spans 8,600 miles throughout the Southeast. The company has recently completed fiber-optic networks in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa as part of an aggressive schedule to bring metro networks to major cities throughout Florida.

FPL FiberNet, LLC, is the telecommunications subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc., , one of the nation's largest providers of electricity- related services with annual revenues of more than $7 billion. Florida Power & Light Company, with approximately 3.9 million customer accounts in Florida, is FPL Group's principal subsidiary.

FPL Energy, LLC, is FPL Group's energy-generating subsidiary and a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information about FPL FiberNet is available on the Internet at http://www.fplfibernet.com/.

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SOURCE: FPL FiberNet, LLC