Our primary service offering consists of Internet access and data transport offered over our award-winning fiber optic, IP data-only network, along with colocation in any of our 54 Internet data centers.
We service two customer segments: "corporate" (small businesses to Fortune 100 companies) and "netcentric" (carriers / service providers and application / content providers, whose businesses rely primarily on Internet access).
Our innovative, facilities-based network spans six continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. With over 59,700 route miles of intercity fiber and more than 38,300 metro fiber miles, we provide service to over 212 major markets and interconnect with over 7,530 other networks.
Cogent was founded on the premise that bandwidth can be treated like a commodity -produce mass amounts and position it for sale based on price. Leveraging new technologies, we built our own IP data network independent of the traditional voice-based networks owned by the RBOCs (regional bell operating companies). By doing so, we believed we could reduce the cost of high quality bandwidth down to a level never before offered in the marketplace. Today, we are widely recognized as one of the largest carriers of Internet traffic in the world.
Dave Schaeffer
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Dave Schaeffer founded Cogent Communications in August 1999 and is the Chief Executive Officer. Under Mr. Schaeffer's leadership, Cogent has become one of the world's largest Internet Providers. Mr. Schaeffer has led the efforts of 13 successful acquisitions, propelling Cogent's originally U.S.-based network into Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. Mr. Schaeffer has successfully founded and operated six other businesses prior to Cogent. These businesses span a wide array of industries from communications to commercial real estate. Mr. Schaeffer holds a B.S. in Physics from the University of Maryland, where he was also a Ph.D. candidate in Economics. His diverse background and entrepreneurial successes have enabled him to build management teams that constructed and operate the only facilities-based, non-oversubscribed multinational network of its kind. In 2019, Mr. Schaeffer was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year® in Media, Entertainment and Telecommunications.
Sean Wallace
Chief Financial Officer
Sean Wallace joined Cogent as Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in May 2020. Mr. Wallace, age 58, has over 30 years of experience in finance, telecom banking and other public company management positions. Prior to joining Cogent, Mr. Wallace was an investor and operator of residential and industrial real estate projects from 2015. He was also, from 2008 to 2015, a senior manager at Standard Chartered Bank where he led their Corporate Finance and Wholesale Origination efforts on a global basis. He also worked at J.P. Morgan from 1998 to 2007 where his roles included being Co-Head of their Investment Banking efforts in the Asia Pacific region as well as leading their North American Telecom Banking efforts. Mr. Wallace is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
Cogent Communications is a public company trading on the NASDAQ with the symbol CCOI.
Cogent is headquartered in Washington, DC, United States of America.
