Bluebird Network Partners with Global Connectivity Provider Megaport

Partnership with Megaport Brings Private Access to Leading Cloud Providers for Bluebird Network and Bluebird Underground Data Center Customers

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI — MAY 7, 2019 —Bluebird Network (Bluebird), a leading Midwest telecommunications company, today announces it has partnered with Megaport Limited (ASX:MP1) (Megaport), a global leading Network as a Service (NaaS) provider, to enable private access to cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, IBM Cloud, Nutanix, and Salesforce. The Bluebird partnership with Megaport gives customers of Bluebird Network and the Bluebird Underground Data Center, Bluebird Network’s colocation facility located in Springfield, Missouri, unprecedented connectivity to each of these top-tier cloud computing and “as-a-service” providers.

This partnership will help to strengthen customer product offerings and improve support to both data center and network customers. Customers can expect improved performance through secure end-to-end connections linking customer locations to cloud networks without traversing the public internet. Private, dedicated connections will allow customers to better control where and how their data gets to the cloud. Additionally, customers will be able to connect to the cloud service provider onramp and location that works best for their network architecture. This removes dependency on traditional internet providers, reduces hardware costs, aligns connectivity to cloud models, and opens deployment options and support for hybrid cloud solutions.

“Our partnership with Megaport provides both our data center and network customers with additional resources to support their business-critical operations; allowing for dedicated, secure, and scalable connections to the cloud,” states Michael Morey, President and CEO of Bluebird Network. “Bluebird assures the same focus on providing high-quality fiber service to rural areas while enabling access to Megaport connectivity to a wide array of diverse cloud service providers.”

Utilizing Megaport’s Software Defined Network (SDN), Bluebird will directly support customer connections to the destination of their choice including over 300 service providers within the Megaport Ecosystem. Utilizing Megaport Cloud Router (MCR), Bluebird can enable cloud-to-cloud connectivity directly between cloud service providers and manage IP routing capabilities for customers.

“As hybrid and multi-cloud become the new normal for IT services, connectivity becomes an increasingly critical part of the overall solution,” said Peter Hase, Chief Commercial Officer, Megaport. “Utilizing Megaport’s SDN and Megaport Cloud Router, Bluebird can support advanced connectivity use cases like cloud-to-cloud. We are delighted to partner with Bluebird to empower their customers with connectivity to the service providers that drive their mission critical IT applications.”

To learn more about Megaport, please visit: www.megaport.com. To learn more about Bluebird Network, please visitwww.bluebirdnetwork.com.

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About Bluebird Network

Bluebird Network, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri, was formed by integrating Bluebird Media, Missouri Network Alliance, and Illinois Network Alliance.  In 2014, an underground data center was acquired and created Bluebird Underground, adding a data center facility to the Bluebird suite of services.  Today, the network has over 6500 fiber route miles of high-speed broadband and fiber-optic connections.  The Bluebird fiber network also has over 135 Points of Presence (POP) sites spanning the Midwest, including the major cities of Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Tulsa.  To learn more, please visit www.bluebirdnetwork.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

About Megaport

Megaport is the global leading provider of Elastic Interconnection services. Using Software Defined Networking (SDN), the Company’s global platform enables customers to rapidly connect their network to other services across the Megaport Network. Services can be directly controlled by customers via mobile devices, their computer, or our open API. Megaport connects over 1,350 customers in over 465 enabled data centres globally. Megaport is an Alibaba Cloud Technology Partner, AWS Technology Partner, AWS Networking Competency Partner, Google Cloud Interconnect Partner, IBM Direct Link Cloud Exchange provider, Microsoft Azure Express Route Partner, Nutanix Direct Connect Partner, Oracle Cloud Partner, and Salesforce Express Connect Partner.

Megaport, Virtual Cross Connect, VXC, and MegaIX are registered trademarks of Megaport (Services) Pty Ltd ACN 607 432 646.

Media Contact for Bluebird Network:

iMiller Public Relations

Tel: 866.307.2510