Quanta Services subs to install PennREN fiber-optic network

JANUARY 4, 2011 -- Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE: PWR) has announced that its Sunesys, LLC and Blair Park Services, LLC subsidiaries have been awarded a contract valued at approximately $118.5 million to design and install a statewide fiber-optic network in Pennsylvania. The Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER), a coalition of Pennsylvania colleges and universities, research and health care organizations, and economic development entities, received funding for the project as part of the broadband stimulus program.

The fiber-optic network, dubbed the Pennsylvania Research and Education Network (PennREN), will connect the state's institutions of higher learning to national research institutions and networks through a 10 Gigabit Ethernet service. KINBER, the non-profit corporation that will serve as coordinator for the construction and management of the network, received a grant for the project valued at $99.6 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Engineering, design and other pre-construction activities are currently underway with construction projected to be completed by January 2013. Under the terms of the contract, Quanta, through its Sunesys subsidiary, will provide approximately $24 million in matching funds over a two-year period for the infrastructure portion of the project. In return for the company's investment in the project, Sunesys will receive certain rights related to right-of-way access on the PennREN network.

PennREN represents the sixth-largest broadband stimulus project. The network will span more than 1,600 miles through 39 counties, 22 of which are currently considered unserved or underserved based on their access to affordable broadband services. PennREN is expected to reach every region of the commonwealth and will have the potential to serve more than 5 million individuals in more than 2 million households and 200,000 businesses. Initially, it will include 13 primary network facilities and approximately 50 secondary locations.

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