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October 17, 2001 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — XO Communications, Inc. (xo.com), a provider of broadband
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communications services, has introduced a set of Virtual Private Network
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service bundles as the latest addition to its packaged telecommunications
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services designed to make buying decisions simpler, more flexible and less
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expensive for small, medium and enterprise level telecommunications
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customers.
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The XO VPN bundles include Virtual Private Networking security capabilities
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and a range of choices for Internet access speed connections all in one
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package. This combination is expected to give customers the ability to save
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money, by using the shared public Internet infrastructure for data
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transmission between locations, while providing both security and
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high-performance reliability for business-critical, wide-area networking
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activities.
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“The adoption of VPN technology is expanding significantly as companies
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begin to realize the cost advantages gained through a shared and protected
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network environment,” said Nancy Gofus, executive vice president of
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marketing and Customer Care for XO Communications. “The success XO has
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experienced with the XOptions packages over the past year has demonstrated
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that customers want simple and flexible solutions for their
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telecommunications needs. Our newest package, the XO VPN bundle allows
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businesses to securely and reliably communicate with their offices,
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employees and business partners via one flexible solution for deploying
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their intranet, extranet or remote access needs.”
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The XO VPN bundles are designed to allow customers to create turn-key
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networking solutions by incorporating common VPN components with a choice of
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high-speed Internet access solutions. These choices include a stand alone
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VPN package, VPN with DSL, and VPN with dedicated Internet access options
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available at T1 or T3 speeds.
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Another important element of the XO VPN bundle is a pre-packaged security
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solution, which includes all of the main networking firewall components that
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most customers require for network security. The offering includes
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encryption technology with the capacity to accommodate large-scale network
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needs allowing customers to scale up to 2,000 user “tunnels” per customer
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premise equipment at DES and 3DES encryption levels. For added security, XO
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also provides demilitarized zones for customers looking to build an
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additional security zone for servers between the customer network and the
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public Internet.
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The technology is managed and monitored by XO and statistics are reported to
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the customer.
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XO VPN bundles also allow qualified customers to integrate remote VPN sites
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in locations that are not directly connected to the XO network, or to
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accommodate cases where customers may have existing access contracts with
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other telecommunications providers.
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For remote access, companies may choose to use XO Corporate Dial for their
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remote users, or continue with an existing service provider. Each bundle is
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available in a rent or purchase option, with all the necessary equipment for
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the VPN, onsite installation, ongoing 24×7 management and VPN reporting full
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incorporated. XO VPN solutions that connect directly to the XO facilities
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based network, route all traffic via SONET protected OC-12 optical network
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fiber rings.
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“Increasingly, companies are looking for tools to improve their business
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performance through the use of the Internet, and VPNs are emerging as one of
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those tools. However, in order to gain the full benefits of VPNs and ensure
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appropriate data security requires a level of knowledge and skill many
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businesses, particularly small businesses, do not possess or cannot afford,”
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said Michael Suby, Senior Research Analyst at Stratecast Partners. “In
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developing a fully managed VPN solution in partnership with Cisco and
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SmartPipes, we view the XO VPN as a continuation of the success of XOptions
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in offering simple, economical, and complete communication solutions to
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businesses.”
