Press Release
01-24-07 - D&E Communications, Inc. Purchases Fiber Network from Access Fiber Solutions, Inc.
D&E COMMUNICATIONS, INC. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24, 2007 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT PERSON: |
EPHRATA, Pa. (January 24, 2007) - D&E Communications, Inc. (D&E) (NASDAQ: DECC), a leading integrated communications provider in eastern and central Pennsylvania, today announced that it has purchased a 26-mile fiber optic network and contracts to provide Gigabit Ethernet Service to two school districts in central Pennsylvania from Access Fiber Solutions, Inc. (AFS), a subsidiary of Harrisburg-based Brinjac Engineering, Inc.
The two contracts acquired through this transaction are with the West Shore School District and the Middletown Area School District. The acquisition of the fiber network serving these two schools expands D&E's facilities-owned footprint in the greater Harrisburg market.
Albert H. Kramer, D&E's Senior Vice President - Operations noted, "We are thrilled to be able to serve the students and staffs of these two outstanding school districts. Additionally, we will now be able to seek additional customers in this market served solely on our own network. As a company dedicated to Delivering Excellence, we are constantly seeking to serve a higher percentage of our customers on our own facilities. We value the opportunity to have maximum control over the quality of the service we provide."
"We are pleased to announce the transfer of a telecommunications fiber optic network to D& E Communications, Inc. The network serves the central portion of the state and, specifically, the Middletown Area School District and the West Shore School District," said Michael G. Starner, President of AFS. "We are extremely proud of the high-speed network which was built over the last few years serving the educational needs of these two school districts and are pleased to be completing this phase of our business plan by transferring this network to D&E Communications, another first class central PA company," added Starner.
D&E is an integrated communications provider offering high-speed data, Internet access, local and long distance telephone, data, professional IT services, network monitoring, security solutions and video services. Based in Lancaster County, D&E has been serving communities in central Pennsylvania for more than 100 years. For more information, visit www.decommunications.com.
AFS is a telecommunications service provider and a Pennsylvania-based Competitive Access Provider (CAP) authorized by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. In addition, AFS is an approved telecommunications service provider across the state in using the Universal Service Fund discount program to schools and libraries for telecommunications services and discounts. AFS specializes in providing Wide Area Network (WAN) voice, video and data convergence for high-speed broadband applications as well as consulting, design, engineering, construction and maintenance services. AFS also offers VOIP, Video on Demand and Web Based Video Conferencing solutions. AFS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brinjac Engineering Inc.