Metropolitan Area Exchange (Ethernet)

(may)

A MAE is a large Network Access Point (NAP). A company known as MFS constructed the first MAE in Washington, D.C. and, later, a second in Silicon Valley (known generally as MAE-East and MAE-West).

MAE is a term specific to the MFS facilities; but NAP and MAE are starting to mean the same thing.

In general terms, MAE is yet another acronym that has taken on a name of its own with no expansion. Most people simply use MAE now and never worry about any expansion. There is also some difference of opinion about the "E" being Exchange or Ethernet (I've seen references to Ethernet in the literature and received E-mail from one who "was there" saying it's really Exchange since Ethernet was so slow in those days and nobody would have considered using it for an access point -- I'm going to side with that argument).

More Information

• Who's MAE?