
64 Networking Explained, Second Edition
Initially, the National Science Foundation funded four NAPs in the United States, one
each in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. These NAPs are oper-
ated respectively by Sprint, Ameritech Advanced Data Services (AADS), Metropolitan
Fiber Systems (MFS), and Pacific Bell. Augmenting the four official NAPS are additional
de facto NAPs, IXPs, and private and public exchange points. These include seven metro-
politan area exchange (MAE) points, which are located in Vienna, VA (MAE-East), San
Jose, CA (MAE-West), Dallas (MAE-Dallas), Houston (MAE-Houston), Los Angeles
(MAE-LA), Chicago (MAE-Chicago), ...