Hermitage - RCMDVAHR Updated: 12:25PM EST 09/27/2004 Operating Company: Verizon Virginia, Inc. Former Operating Company(s): Bell Atlantic - Virginia, Inc. C&P Telephone Co. of Va Operating Company Number: 9213 Office Name: Hermitage Location: 6102 Hermitage Rd. Lakeside, Henrico Co., VA Colocated Carrier(s): Adelphia Business Solutions MFS Communications Co., Inc.

Comments:
You have to see this suburban office in person to truely appreciate its massive foot print. Other odd features include the large foot print in a very cramped residential area along with the GPS antenna for clocking. Additionally this office has third part fiber links from MFS (Metropolitan Fiber Systems) and Adelphia Business Solutions (the CLEC operations of the bankrupt Ch. 11).

A few words on MFS. Metropolitan Fiber Systems along with Teleport Communications Group (TCG) where two of the first and largest CLEC operations established in after the creation of the 1996 Telecom Act. TCG went on to build a nationwide switched network (most likely resold AT&T for the backbone) and later went into Ch. 11 and was purchased by AT&T in 1999 or there abouts. MFS on the other hand setup some of the first major internet peering points such as the various sites in the Tyson's Corner area of Fairfax County, Virginia known as MAE-EAST. It was MFS who in 1996 purchased internet backbone and wholesale access provider UUnet (i.e. Alternet for us older folks). However, soon after the purchase of UUnet LDDS WorldCom spent $14.3 billion dollars to buy MFS. A year after buying MFS LDDS WorldCom would go one to buy Brooks Fiber Systems and much larger rival MCI.

This series of buyouts then triggered consolidation between the various Baby Bells. Southwestern Bell would go on to acquire Pacific Telesys (Pac*Bell) and its subsidary Nevada Bell as well as Connecticut independent Southern New England Telephone (SNET). Bell Atlantic Corp. would go on to buy NYNEX (New York and New England Telephone) and then "merge" with GTE Corp. to become Verizon. Southwestern Bell then rebranded itself simply as SBC.

Realizing owning a Baby Bell was the new hoteness, backbone provider Qwest Communications International purchased U.S. West with near disastourous results. Sprint paniced with the demise of MCI and tried to sell itself to British Telecomunications, the monopoly local dialtone provider for the UK (now known simply as BT). FCC regulators voted this buyout down leading BellSouth and SBC to drop rumors of their interest in Sprint.

Alot of information from a single sticker.