KANSAS CITY, MO--(Marketwire - Mar 7, 2013) - Unite Private Networks (UPN) and Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development, Inc. today announced a long-term agreement to provide fiber-optic based Ethernet, Internet and dark fiber services at Hunt Midwest SubTropolis, the world's largest underground business complex.

"The UPN network will provide our tenants, especially e-commerce and business partners, with nearly unlimited bandwidth, giving them network performance to better meet business challenges and maintain a competitive advantage," said Mike Bell, general manager of industrial/commercial for Hunt Midwest. "By deploying a fiber-optic network in our underground facility, SubTropolis will also have the ability to support critical bandwidth-intensive data center applications in a secure environment unmatched by other data center facilities."

Jason W. Adkins, senior vice president of sales at UPN, indicated that the new fiber optic network will be hundreds of times faster than the competition. "It is very gratifying that Hunt Midwest selected us to be their business partner. We are excited about building the project and developing a long-term relationship with Hunt Midwest."

UPN provides high-bandwidth, fiber-based communications networks and related services to enterprise business, data centers, schools, governments, and carriers located in 18 states.

"We are very excited about partnering with Hunt Midwest," said Kevin Anderson, UPN CEO. "The nearly unlimited bandwidth provided by fiber-optic facilities allows our services to easily and quickly expand as the needs of customers grow over time. Most of our customers like to future-proof their communications with flexible solutions to meet their ever-growing bandwidth requirements."

Hunt Midwest's Bell and Matthew Simmons, UPN director of enterprise markets for Kansas City, will work together to deliver the best fiber network available to businesses located in SubTropolis.

About SubTropolis
As the largest underground business complex in the world, Hunt Midwest SubTropolis sets the standard for subsurface business developments. SubTropolis was created through the mining of a 270-million-year-old limestone deposit. In the mining process, limestone is removed by the room and pillar method, leaving 25-foot square pillars that are on 65-foot centers and 40 feet apart.

The SubTropolis Technology Center is a 200,000-square foot data center with raised floors and a Tier IV rated structure at no additional cost. The data center receives redundant power from Kansas City Power & Light at electrical costs dramatically lower than other parts of the United States. In addition, the power grid on property can support a future 90MW substation with dual ring-bus configuration.

The new dark fiber infrastructure in SubTropolis connects directly with Kansas City's 1102 Grand carrier hotel, which interconnects carriers, service providers and enterprise customers. The fiber-optic infrastructure at SubTropolis also supports the IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) networking protocol to interconnect Novell NetWare client and server locations.

In addition to nearly unlimited bandwidth, SubTropolis tenants enjoy low lease rates that are 30-50 percent less than above-ground facilities; low utility costs that offer 50-70 percent savings in total energy costs; and the largest foreign-trade zone under one roof in the United States. SubTropolis is home to more than 50 local, regional, national and international companies which operate underground and employ more than 1,500 people.

In 2012, SubTropolis earned a perfect ENERGY STAR energy performance rating of 100 in the category of unrefrigerated warehouse from the EPA. Of the six warehouse facilities in Kansas and Missouri that have earned the ENERGY STAR, SubTropolis is the only one to receive a perfect rating.

About Hunt Midwest Enterprises
Hunt Midwest Enterprises, Inc. is a Kansas City, Missouri-based company comprised of two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development, Inc., developer of over 6,000 acres of commercial, retail, industrial and residential property, and owner/developer of SubTropolis, the world's largest underground business complex; and Hunt Midwest Mining, Inc., 50 percent owner of the region's largest supplier of crushed limestone, Hunt Martin Materials, L.L.C.

Hunt Midwest, a privately held company, is owned by the Lamar Hunt family. The Hunt family business is a diverse portfolio of entities involved in real estate, sports/media, energy/resources, private equity, and investments. Marquee entities include the Kansas City Chiefs, Hunt Midwest, Chicago Bulls, United Center, FC Dallas Stadium, FC Dallas Soccer Club, Team Columbus Soccer, and Crew Soccer Stadium.

About Unite Private Networks
Unite Private Networks (UPN) provides high-bandwidth, fiber-based communications networks and related services to enterprise business, data centers, schools, governments, and carriers throughout the United States. Service offerings include dark and lit fiber, private line, metro-optical Ethernet, Internet access, data center services, and other customized solutions. Headquartered in the Kansas City, MO metro area, UPN has been providing customer-focused communications solutions since 1998. UPN currently has customers located in 18 states. For more information on UPN, please visit www.upnllc.com.