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FPL FiberNet
FiberNetworkAt the beginning of 2000, FPL Group launched a new subsidiary, FPL FiberNet LLC, to sell fiber-optic network capacity on a wholesale basis to telephone, cable television, Internet service providers and other telecommunications companies in Florida. The subsidiary acquired its existing 1,600-mile, long-haul, inter-city fiber network from FPL and has begun to augment the network by building and operating intra-city networks in major metropolitan areas in Florida. FPL is also a customer of the subsidiary, enjoying the same reliable, low-cost telecommunications services as in the past. FPL FiberNet's inter-city network, which has been in operation for 12 years, travels from Miami to Jacksonville on the east coast of Florida; Lake City in north Florida; and Tampa south on the west coast. The new subsidiary has completed construction of an intra-city network in Miami, and similar projects are underway in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and West Palm Beach. It expects to invest approximately $75 million toward its metropolitan network expansion in 2000 and plans to complete construction of 15 metropolitan networks in Florida by 2002.
FPL FiberNet expects sales to be between $30 and $40 million in its first year of operation. The business, which is already profitable, is expected to be an earnings enhancer near-term, but is not expected to provide significant contributions to earnings growth for several years. The fiber-optic network was originally developed in the late 1980s to provide internal telecommunications services to support company operations. In 1996 FPL began selling excess fiber-optic capacity along its network to the major telecommunications companies operating in Florida. Since its launch, FPL FiberNet has expanded its customer base to include Internet service providers and other telecommunications companies, who will take advantage of the expanded network.
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