Interconnects

Fri May 17 19:24:39 UTC 2002

Mitch what has MFN's financial  problems have to do with the quality of the
agreements that are in place for peering. If you are worried that they may
blow off the face of the earth - I too agree that money is tight and there
are a number of other meltdowns coming as the real winners of the Internet
race start to emerge.

Todd

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mitch Halmu" <mitch at netside.net>
To: "todd glassey" <todd.glassey at worldnet.att.net>
Cc: "Ralph Doncaster" <ralph at istop.com>; "ren" <ren at internet.rockstar.org>;
"Iljitsch van Beijnum" <iljitsch at muada.com>; <nanog at nanog.org>
Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: Interconnects

>
>
> On Fri, 17 May 2002, todd glassey wrote:
>
> > PAIX is a division of MFN (Metropolitan Fiber Networks) as Above.NET is
as
> > well. That means they share MFN's connectivity and peering agreements
and as
> > such are incredibly rich environments. Especially with someone like Paul
> > Vixie running it, (PAIX that is) my take is that these are number one
> > providers.
> >
> > I must admit though that I am a staunch Above.NET supporter and have
been
> > for ages having a single digit customer ID.
> >
> > Todd
>
> "Incredibly rich environments" indeed:
>
> --
>
> Metromedia Fiber misses interest payment
>
> By BARBARA WOLLER
> THE JOURNAL NEWS
> (Original publication: May 17, 2002)
>
> WHITE PLAINS - Metromedia Fiber Network - which has been struggling for
> months to avoid a filing for bankruptcy court protection - reported
> Wednesday night that it did not pay about $32 million in interest that
> was due that day on $650 million of 10 percent senior notes.
>
> The White Plains-based company, which has built fiber-optic broadband
> communications systems within cities, said it will be in default on the
> loan if it does not make the payment before a 30-day grace period expires.
>
> The company also announced that it is delaying the filing with the U.S.
> Securities and Exchange Commission of its quarterly report for the period
> ended March 31. Metromedia Fiber had previously announced that it had
> delayed filing with the SEC of its annual report for the year ending
> Dec. 31, 2001.
>
> "We're attempting to restructure the debt," said company spokeswoman
> Kara Carbone. "We're still working on all alternatives. But if we don't,
> we may have to seek protection under Chapter 11."
>
> Industry analyst Victor Valdivia of Hudson River Analytics said yesterday
> that he expects the company will ultimately file for Chapter 11 protection
> under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
>
> "We don't think there's a lot of upside at this point," Valdivia said.
>
> In March, the company defaulted on an $8.1 million interest payment due
> to Nortel Networks on a $231 million loan. In mid-April the company
> defaulted on a $30 million interest payment on a loan of $975 million
> from Verizon Communications.
>
> Metromedia Fiber was able to stave off Chapter 11 in October when it
> secured a $611 financial package in an environment where lenders have
> not been willing to provide money to telecom companies. But the company's
> troubles did not go away.
>
> The industry has seen a meltdown in the weak economy, and Metromedia Fiber
> has suffered because many of its customers cannot pay their bills.