Trading Desk: Band-X Acquires German Exchange

Posted: 02/2001

Band-X Acquires German Exchange

Band-X Ltd. (www.band-x.com), the
London-based virtual market for international telecom wholesale capacity, has
acquired Hanse-X (www.hanse-x.com), a
switched minute traffic exchange in Germany.

Hanse-X, which offers a bandwidth and collocation brokerage service, will be
renamed Band-X Germany. Financial terms were not disclosed.

As part of a technology investment program, Band-X will buy the Telsis Fast
Ocean SSP voice switch for its Frankfurt PoP. The investments should improve the
current switching and billing infrastructure, allowing Tier 1 carriers to
connect to the switched minutes trading floor for the first time.

Band-X also is building a Frankfurt-based routed IP exchange, which is
expected to be live by March 31.

"The German market is fundamental to Band-X’s expansion plans in
Europe," says Stephen Beynon, Band-X Group CEO, in a prepared statement.
"As well as being the continent’s biggest user of IP access, and second
biggest market for voice traffic, the projected uptake of DSL and
third-generation mobile in Germany points to rapid growth in demand for all
types of bandwidth and collocation space."

Hanse-X founder Ulrich Schwerhoff has been named chairman of Band-X Germany.
Hanse-X managing director Thomas Kaleja will oversee Band-X Germany’s switched
minutes business.

In November, Band-X opened a trading floor for IP transit capacity in the
Netherlands.