FirstLight Fiber Appoints Industry Veteran, Bill LaPerch, to Its Board of Directors

ALBANY, NY--(Marketwired - Oct 15, 2013) - FirstLight Fiber (formerly known as Tech Valley Communications), a facilities-based telecommunications service provider, operating fiber optic networks in Upstate New York and Northern New England, announced today that Bill LaPerch, former Chief Executive Officer, President and Director of AboveNet, will join as an esteemed member of FirstLight's Board of Directors. 

Mr. LaPerch has over 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. As CEO of AboveNet, a high bandwidth fiber-optic connectivity solutions provider, Mr. LaPerch was responsible for transforming it into one of the country's premier telecommunications providers, offering fiber-based services to Fortune 1000 companies and service providers in both the U.S. and UK. In addition to his success at AboveNet, Mr. LaPerch also served in key executive management positions at MCI Telecommunications and NYNEX Corporation. He presently serves on several boards including Imation, a global scalable storage and data security company, and Digital Realty Trust, the leading owner and manager of corporate datacenters and Internet gateways. Mr. LaPerch is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and received a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia University.

"We are delighted that Bill has chosen to join the FirstLight Board of Directors," stated Steven F. Kaplan, General Partner at Riverside Partners and Chairman of FirstLight's Board of Directors. "Bill's extensive experience in this industry, including his relationships with customers, partners and vendors as well as his experience in operations and strategic planning, will undoubtedly provide additional insight to our Board and assist the Company in executing on its plans for future growth."

"I am honored to join FirstLight's Board during this exciting time of growth and innovation," commented Mr. LaPerch. "I look forward to leveraging my experience to assist in the continued success and expansion of FirstLight."

To learn more about FirstLight, visit www.firstlight.net or follow the Company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About FirstLight Fiber
FirstLight Fiber (formerly known as Tech Valley Communications), headquartered in Albany, NY, provides fiber optic data, Internet, colocation and voice services to enterprise, carrier and wholesale customers in Upstate New York and Northern New England with connectivity to Canada utilizing its own fiber optic network, which spans over 190,000 fiber miles connecting in excess of 1,300 lit buildings. FirstLight offers a robust suite of advanced telecommunications products, including dedicated Internet access, Metro Ethernet, traditional TDM solutions, SIP trunks, virtual PBX and audio-conferencing, managed commercial wireless systems, and Data Center Colocation. FirstLight's clientele includes national cellular providers and CLECs and many leading enterprises, spanning high tech manufacturing and research, hospitals and healthcare, banking and financial, secondary education, colleges and universities, and local and state governments. FirstLight is the parent company of New Hampshire-based CLEC, segTEL, and recently acquired the assets of Vermont-based CLEC, TelJet. FirstLight is a portfolio company of Boston-based private equity firm Riverside Partners.