SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, 2006 — Yipes Enterprise Services, Inc., (www.yipes.com) the leading provider of globally managed, end-to-end Ethernet solutions, today announced it is providing national and metro connectivity for the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) as part of the department's multi-year conversion to a single Enterprise Services Network (ESN).

 

Undertaking one of the largest information technology projects ever by a federal agency, the DOI is consolidating 13 wide area networks across the country into a single network. This project sets the foundation for a modernized network with improved data speeds and security, 24/7 availability and highly efficient infrastructure management.

 

Yipes has played a major role in the DOI's initial phase of the ESN — bringing 24 key DOI facilities on-net by utilizing Yipes' fiber infrastructure. Yipes is providing 100 Mbps Layer 2 Ethernet connectivity scalable to 1 Gbps, linking the DOI's base offices in Washington, D.C. and Denver as well as the headquarters of the major department bureaus across the country. The new configuration significantly consolidates the DOI's intranet and Internet traffic down to just four major gateways, significantly enhancing security and efficiency.

 

The DOI is one of the largest departments in the federal government, with more than 70,600 employees and 200,000 volunteers at approximately 2,400 operating locations. The department has an annual budget exceeding $16 billion, and collects more than $10 billion in revenues annually from energy, mineral, timber, recreation, land and related sales.

 

Bureaus and services under its direction include U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, National Parks Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Office of Surface Mining and Minerals Management Service. The DOI manages 504 million acres of surface land, or about one-fifth of the land in the U.S.

 

"Yipes has made an immediate impact as an outstanding partner for our ESN project, and we appreciate their efforts to continually go above and beyond in helping to make phase one a success. They are extremely reliable and highly cost-competitive compared with traditional telecommunications services," said Tim Quinn, Chief of the Enterprise Infrastructure Division for the DOI.

 

"The private Ethernet service from Yipes has given us improved performance and security, adding superior reliability versus conventional carriers, as well as a very smooth integration in a wide range of environments. We now also have the option of immediate bandwidth scalability instead of waiting 30 to 90 days to provision new circuits. That gives our separate data center locations new options in working together for effective disaster recovery."

 

Yipes was the first Gigabit Ethernet provider tapped by the DOI and has been working with the department since 2002 with Lorton, VA.-based Futron, Incorporated, a leading technology integrator to the federal government.

 

Yipes is working with the DOI alongside their primary network management provider in an effort to ensure a highly robust architecture with immediate failover protection, proactive troubleshooting and seamless integration into existing services. Quinn cited Yipes' ability to work collaboratively with this provider as a critical success factor during phase one of the ESN project.

 

Quinn also noted Yipes' unique persistence and determination in working to overcome obstacles, getting the necessary fiber infrastructure installed and online to meet key project timelines.

 

"We are proud to have been entrusted by the DOI to participate in the roll out of something as large and as vital as the ESN. The project highlights the unique capabilities Yipes' Ethernet solutions bring to government sector consolidation efforts, such as cost-effective scalability, security and flexibility,"said Keao Caindec, Yipes chief marketing officer. "The DOI has worked hard to develop a highly advanced, forward-looking network architecture capable of addressing the complex needs of our country's principal conservation agency. It is an honor to be a part of this important effort and we look forward to helping the DOI make the most of its new network going forward."

 

Phase two of the ESN deployment will focus on optimizing the established network, migrating to fully managed data services and MPLS connectivity.

 

"Our first priority was to consolidate and modernize the network to effectively handle basic data services with an interest in doing it well and doing it right. Now that we have established an efficient core, we can look ahead and contemplate additional services out to the edge knowing we've set a rock-solid foundation. We are confident in Yipes' ability to execute well as we look forward to continuing to work with them in this venture," Quinn concluded.

 

About Yipes:
Winner of the Metro Ethernet Forum 2005 Service Provider of the Year Award for Outstanding Innovation, Yipes Enterprise Services, Inc. is the leading global provider of managed, end-to-end Ethernet solutions for enterprise customers. Yipes offers a uniquely scalable suite of networking services that combine the speed, simplicity and cost effectiveness of native Ethernet with Yipes proprietary bandwidth-on-demand functionality. Yipes provides services in and between major metropolitan markets including: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, London, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tokyo and Washington DC. For more information, visit www.yipes.com.

 

About the DOI:
The Department of the Interior (DOI) is the nation's principal conservation agency. Its mission is to protect America's treasures for future generations, provide access to our nation's natural and cultural heritage, offer recreation opportunities, honor our trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives and our responsibilities to island communities, conduct scientific research, provide wise stewardship of energy and mineral resources, foster sound use of land and water resources, and conserve and protect fish and wildlife. Its work affects the lives of millions of people; from the family taking a vacation in a national park to the children studying in Indian schools. Learn more at www.doi.gov.

 

Contact:
Keao Caindec
Chief Marketing Officer
Yipes Enterprise Services, Inc.
415-307-7324
kcaindec@yipes.com

 

or

 

Don Hunt and Kelly Smallegan-Maas
Lambert, Edwards & Associates, Inc.
616-233-0500
mail@lambert-edwards.com