Connected Nation Exchange (CNX) Launches North America Broadband Partnership with Macquarie Capital

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 11, 2016. /PRNewswire/ -- Speaking at the 2016 SmartGig Ohio Business Technology Conference, CNX CEO Brian Mefford announced a newly created partnership between CNX, a broadband strategy and asset optimization firm, and Macquarie Capital ("Macquarie Capital"), the corporate advisory, capital markets and principal investing arm of Macquarie Group Limited ("Macquarie;" ASX: MQG; ADR: MQBKY). The collaboration offers Public-Private Partnership (P3) solutions for cities and states seeking to expand their broadband infrastructure by providing advisory and technical services, business planning and financing for the construction, management and operation of fiber and wireless broadband networks.

During his presentation, entitled "Wireless Small Cells: How Municipalities are Key to the 5G Revolution," Mefford discussed ways that CNX and Macquarie Capital are working to provide a new path to partnership for cities and states grappling with the universal need for better connectivity to support "smart city" initiatives.

"States and cities universally desire to ensure they have the most future-ready broadband networks and the most technology-friendly policy environment possible," Mefford said to the audience of city leaders from across the region. "Our partnership with Macquarie Capital is providing a new way to better broadband by leveraging the best strengths of the public and private sectors."

Columbus in the past two years has been the stand-alone winner of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Smart City Challenge ($50 million award in 2016) and was awarded Intelligent Community of the Year by the Intelligent Community Forum in 2015.  In Columbus a public-private partnership led by CNX has allowed the city to provide open access to its city owned fiber assets, creating opportunities for service providers and institutions of all types to leverage the city's infrastructure to make their connectivity investment go further faster.

"We are excited to partner with CNX to pursue the next generation of broadband projects in North America," said Nicholas Hann, senior managing director at Macquarie Capital.  "Access to high-speed broadband remains a critical economic infrastructure need for many states and local cities; the KentuckyWired PPP provides a sound model for the use of public private partnerships to deliver broadband access more quickly, cost effectively and comprehensively."

In the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Macquarie Capital is leading the public-private partnership effort called "Kentucky Wired" to construct a 3,200 mile "middle mile" network to provide open access for service providers to offer exponentially faster services to local communities, state agencies and anchor institutions at a much lower cost. Macquarie Capital and CNX will work together in Kentucky to ensure that providers and institutions statewide are taking full advantage of this new economic asset in the Bluegrass state.

About CNX

Through its unique software platform and public-private partnership know-how, CNX bridges the divide as a broker between cities and states desiring to expand broadband and the private companies that seek to invest in broadband networks. The CNX industry-leading platform aggregates all relevant public sector asset data to support public-private transactions that allow companies faster speed to market and higher impact for deployed capital, focusing on solutions for fiber construction, small cell and 5g wireless.

CNX offers technical, financial, legal, and operational expertise to implement geo-relevant public-private partnerships that solve broadband access challenges and expand the network effect for the good of all. We operate as a cross functional integrated solutions team, providing expertise that bridges the divide between the public and private sectors in order to get deals done and accelerate time to market for network investment.

More information at www.cnx.io

About Macquarie

Macquarie is a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. Founded in 1969, Macquarie operates in more than 65 office locations in 28 countries, employs more than 14,000 people and has assets under management totaling US$366 billion at 31 March 2016.

Macquarie Capital includes Macquarie's corporate advisory, capital markets and principal investing capabilities, with expertise spanning a variety of industry sectors including telecommunications, media, entertainment, gaming, financial institutions, industrials, energy, resources, real estate, infrastructure, utilities and renewables.

Macquarie Capital's infrastructure platform covers a full range of project development and advisory services. Macquarie Capital leverages its deep infrastructure experience to develop a track record of working with municipal, state, and federal governments as both an advisor and bidder for PPP concessions and delivering innovative solutions that enable complex transactions to reach financial close.

Contact: (270) 991-3444

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SOURCE Connected Nation Exchange (CNX)

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