FPL FiberNet, LLC, the fiber- optic subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. , today announced the signing of a 20-year agreement with Centennial Florida Switch Corporation, a subsidiary of Centennial Communications.

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SONET is a family of fiber-optic transmission rates created to provide the flexibility needed to transport digital signals with different capacities. SONET rings are transmission systems ideally laid out in physical rings for the purpose of redundancy. The more redundant the fiber-optic network, the more reliable it will be. For example, if a failure on a fiber-optic line should occur, data transmission would be re-routed rather than lost. Optical Carrier-12 (OC-12) SONET describes the rate of speed of the data transmission. In this case OC-12 is twelve times the rate of OC-1 (51.840 million bits per second).

Centennial will leverage FPL FiberNet's connectivity between the Americas Region Caribbean Optical-ring System (ARCOS) cable station, which is primarily owned by New World Networks, and the NAP of the Americas. Centennial, which owns 4.8 percent of ARCOS, is registered as a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) in Florida.

"We see this partnership as beneficial for both FPL FiberNet and Centennial, especially considering the regional focus of both companies," said Neil Flynn, president, FPL FiberNet. "Many service providers, like Centennial, are acknowledging the market opportunity that exists in Florida's metropolitan areas. We are pleased Centennial chose us over other providers in the state and look forward to helping them build a solid service offering."

Carlos Bofill, CEO of Centennial Caribbean Operations, said, "When we decided to expand into Florida, we wanted to partner with a wholesale carrier that not only had the best technology to meet our needs, but also had the financial stability to support our long-term goals. After evaluating the many providers available to us, we chose FPL FiberNet who we believe can deploy our services faster and can reach deeper into Florida's metropolitan areas than any other wholesale carrier in the state."

About FPL FiberNet

FPL FiberNet, LLC, which operates one of the largest metropolitan-area fiber-optic networks in the United States, provides connectivity to major telecom centers in Florida, including leading carrier hotels, international cable-heads and central offices. Through multiple interconnection and partnership agreements, the network spans 10,000 miles throughout the southeast. The company has completed fiber-optic networks in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Jacksonville, Orlando, St. Petersburg and Tampa as part of an aggressive schedule to deploy metro networks in major cities throughout the state. FPL FiberNet, LLC, is the telecommunications subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. .

FPL Group, with annual revenues of more than $8 billion, is nationally known as a high-quality, efficient, and customer-driven organization, focused on energy-related products and services. With a growing presence in more than 15 states, it is widely recognized as one of the country's premier power companies. Its principal subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, serves approximately 3.9 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, an FPL Group energy-generating subsidiary is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. FPL FiberNet, LLC is a provider of fiber- optic networks in Florida. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.fplgroup.com/, http://www.fpl.com/, http://www.fplenergy.com/ and http://www.fplfibernet.com/.

About Centennial Communications

Centennial is one of the largest independent wireless telecommunications service providers in the United States and the Caribbean with approximately 18.5 million Net Pops and 826,500 wireless subscribers. Centennial's U.S. operations have approximately 6.0 million Net Pops in small cities and rural areas. Centennial's Caribbean integrated communications operation owns and operates wireless licenses for 12.4 million Net Pops in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and provides voice, data, video and Internet services on broadband networks in the region. Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and an affiliate of The Blackstone Group are controlling shareholders of Centennial. For more information regarding Centennial, please visit our website at http://www.centennialcom.com/.

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SOURCE: FPL FiberNet LLC