ATLANTA, March 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company, today announced an expansion of its agreement with Georgia State University, a leading research university in Atlanta, Ga.

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Southern Telecom has completed the installation of Georgia State University's Northern Fiber Optic Ring. Southern Telecom leveraged its inventory of existing Atlanta central business district ducts and expanded its duct system reach to complete a highly reliable, redundant, 432-count backbone fiber optic network for Georgia State University.

"Southern Telecom has supported Georgia State University for many years," said Leif Ericson, business development manager with Southern Telecom. "Georgia State has had significant growth in student enrollment and infrastructure. Due to this growth, Southern Telecom has worked with Georgia State to meet its ever-evolving, state-of-the-art communications needs."

This initiative serves as an extension of the Southern Fiber Optic Ring that Southern Telecom created for the university several years ago. The Northern Ring complements the existing Southern Ring by connecting 13 additional buildings to the campus network footprint. By adding fiber laterals to new and existing buildings, including two carrier hotels, the university has significant network capacity to meet its student and faculty needs well into the future.

"We look forward to continued assistance from Southern Telecom in meeting our future telecommunication needs," said J.L. Albert, Georgia State University's assistant vice president for Information Systems and Technology and CIO.

The project features multiple ring architectures and redundant hubs.

About Southern Telecom
Southern Telecom is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company that provides long-haul and metropolitan dark fiber connecting Atlanta with other smaller cities throughout the Southeast. The company also provides network elements such as rights of way, dark fiber, conduit, co-location and other related maintenance services. Southern Telecom is certified in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia and also at the federal level. For more information about Southern Telecom, please call (404) 506-5120 or visit www.southern-telecom.com.    

About Georgia State University 
Georgia State University is the Southeast's leading urban research institution. It is on the list of the top 100 public universities for doctoral degrees awarded. More than 250 degree programs with 100 fields of study are offered at the bachelor's, master's, specialist and doctoral levels. Students may enroll in day or evening classes and in part-time or full-time study. For more information, visit http://www.gsu.edu.

About Southern Company
With 4.4 million customers and more than 43,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for energy innovation, excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company and its subsidiaries are leading the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans and are demonstrating their commitment to energy innovation through the development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant. Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer and listed by DiversityInc as a top company for Blacks. The company received the 2012 Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute for its leadership in new nuclear development, was named Electric Light & Power magazine's Utility of the Year for 2012 and is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company