From a piece in the April Atlantic Monthly on NSA wiretapping:
Tapping into the fiber-optic network that carries the nation’s Internet communications is even easier, as much of the information transits through just a few “switches” (similar to the satellite downlinks). Among the busiest are MAE East (Metropolitan Area Ethernet), in Vienna, Virginia, and MAE West, in San Jose, California, both owned by Verizon.Yes, that's right, Mae West. Sort of like when Dr. Evil named his two moon bases "Moon Unit Alpha" and "Moon Unit Zappa." Posted by Stephen Silver at March 19, 2006 11:53 PM