CHICAGO and CAGLIARI, Italy -- Tinet, a Neutral Tandem company (Nasdaq:TNDM), announced today the launch of its global wholesale offering, "EtherCloud." EtherCloud is a Layer 2 platform connecting diverse partner networks into a holistic Ethernet cloud that delivers end-to-end Ethernet and VPLS connectivity around the world. EtherCloud is the result of extensive product and systemsintegration of the independent Ethernet offers from Tinet and NeutralTandem.

"EtherCloud seamlessly interconnects diverse networks, simplifying thedelivery of Ethernet and VPLS services on a global basis," saidSurendra Saboo, President and Chief Operating Officer of NeutralTandem. "Customers are looking for a provider to assemble an end-to-end solution for their off-net Ethernet connectivity needs," said Roopashree Honnachari, Senior Industry Analyst, Business Communication Services, Frost and Sullivan. EtherCloud offers customers flexible interconnectivity options so they can choose where and how they want to interconnect at any of Tinet's 120 global Points of Presence.

EtherCloud is supported by an intuitive and feature-rich customerportal built to simplify and expedite the way members request andreceive information. Using the EtherCloud portal, customers can receive price quotes, check for available capacity, order services, and monitor service performance on an end-to-end basis. EtherCloud customers will be able to send a single order which includes the commercial terms and provisioning that will apply to the entire order including the PoP-to-PoP and tail circuit. In addition, the portal acts as a worldwide sales channel that funnels requests to its members for local Ethernet connectivity.

"We designed the service to deliver a compelling value proposition: tosimplify and streamline customers' off-net interconnections, to extendtheir network reach and to market their local Ethernet services tocustomers worldwide," said Paolo Gambini, Chief Marketing Officer ofTinet. "The offering is further strengthened by end-to-end SLAs to meet the demands of enterprise customers." EtherCloud is well suited for a range of customers including local/regional carriers, ISPs, value added resellers and systems integrators. Through a single E-NNI, EtherCloud members can buy Ethernet and VPLS connectivity and sell their own services to other EtherCloud members globally.

Tinet