#1cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes NASDAQ CCOI INVESTOR PRESENTATION#2Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This presentation includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which relate to future, not past, events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements, which address the Company's expected business and financial performance, among other matters, contain words such as: "will", "expect", "believe", "continue", "optimistic", "should", "ongoing" and other words and terms of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as revenue, subscriber and traffic growth, margins, capital expenditures, sales force headcount and productivity, pricing, financings and return of capital shareholders. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Our acquisition of Sprint (T-Mobile Wireline) and difficulties integrating our business with the acquired Sprint Communications business; the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying government policies worldwide; vaccination and in-office requirements, delays in the delivery of network equipment and optical fiber; future economic instability in the global economy, including the risk of economic recession, which could affect spending on Internet services; the impact of changing foreign exchange rates (in particular the Euro to US dollar and Canadian dollar to US dollar exchange rates) on the translation of our non-US dollar denominated revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities into US dollars; legal and operational difficulties in new markets; the imposition of a requirement that we contribute to the US Universal Service Fund on the basis of our Internet revenue; changes in government policy and/or regulation, including rules regarding data protection, cyber security and net neutrality; increasing competition leading to lower prices for our services; our ability to attract new customers and to increase and maintain the volume of traffic on our network; the ability to maintain our Internet peering arrangements and right-of-way agreements on favorable terms; our ability to renew our long-term leases of optical fiber and right-of-way agreements that comprise our network; our reliance on a few equipment vendors, Cisco Systems Inc., and the potential for hardware or software problems associated with such equipment; the dependence of our network on the quality and dependability of third-party fiber and right-of-way providers; our ability to retain certain customers that comprise a significant portion of our revenue base; the management of network failures and/or disruptions; our ability to make payments on our indebtedness as they become due and outcomes in litigation, risks associated with variable interest rates under our Swap Agreement, as well as other risks discussed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A further description of these uncertainties and other risks can be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ending September 30, 2023, June 30, 2023 and March 31, 2023 and the Company's other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings may be obtained by contacting the Company or by visiting EDGAR on the SEC's website. These or other uncertainties may cause the Company's actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in any forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Non-GAAP Measures This presentation includes and discusses EBITDA, EBITDA as adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit Services Agreement, Gross Margin, and EBITDA, as Adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit Services Agreement Margin which are non-GAAP measures. The IP Transit Services Agreement involves cash payments of $29.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023. On the Closing Date, Cogent and TMUSA, Inc. entered into an IP Transit Services Agreement, pursuant to which TMUSA will pay Cogent an aggregate of $700 million, consisting of (i) $350 million in equal monthly installments during the first year after the Closing Date and (ii) $350 million in equal monthly installments over the subsequent 42 months. Management uses these non-GAAP measures to evaluate its business because they believes these measures assist investors and analysts in comparing the Company's performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that management believes are not indicative of the Company's core operating performance. Management believes these metrics are used in the financial community, and these metrics are presented here to enhance understanding of the Company's operating performance. You should not consider these non-GAAP measures as alternatives to Net income, determined in accordance with GAAP, as an indicator of operating performance. Furthermore, these non-GAAP measures are not measurements of financial performance under GAAP, and thus may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. EBITDA represents net cash flows provided by operating activities plus changes in operating assets and liabilities, cash interest expense and cash income tax expense. Management believes the most directly comparable measure to EBITDA calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP, is net cash provided by operating activities. EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit Services Agreement, represents EBITDA plus costs related to the Company's acquisition of Sprint's (T-Mobile Wireline) Business. EBITDA margin is defined as EBITDA divided by total service revenue. EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit Services Agreement margin is defined as EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit Services Agreement, divided by total service revenue. See the Appendix to this presentation for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 2#3company overview Cogent is a leading, global provider of Internet Access & Transport Services. cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes • • We operate a global network carrying approximately 25% of all internet traffic We offer high speed internet access to three customer bases: ― Corporate: 44% of revenues • . - © Netcentric: 34% of revenues Enterprise: 22% of revenues We differentiate and gain share in a commodity business by focusing on price and value. We have very high operating leverage with substantial network capacity We operate in 54 countries in 227 markets 3#4the on-net corporate IP & VPN opportunity Market Players Competitors Lumen Technologies • Bell Canada • • Verizon • AT&T . Location Comcast Spectrum • 1,860 Class A MTOBS in city core • 100+ cities in North America Customers Located in City Core Professional/Financial Services Strong Credit Cogent Advantages • Price per connection is relatively equivalent • Superior reliability: ring architecture; fiber; electronics 3x more reliable, on-net, than competitors • Significant speed advantage: 2.5x to 65.0x • Faster installation: Avg. installs 13 - 15 days vs 90 days Real time monitoring Growth Opportunity Industry leading SLAs Growing Addressable Market Growth in on-net MTOB SqFt in Millions 1,007 • Potential market: over 93,000 MTOB tenants 1,000 Q1 2010 • Favorable trends: Cloud, SaaS, WFH, Virtual Business (Zoom), IoT 800 597 600 • Superior speed, service, uptime, install SLAs 400 Cogent wins over 40% of all On-Net proposals cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 200 0 Q3 2023 CAGR: 3.9% 4#5cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes the off-net corporate IP & VPN opportunity Market Players Competitors • Verizon Lumen Technologies • Bell Canada • Comcast • Spectrum • AT&T Location • 40+ Million Addresses in North America Customers • Located in suburbs of major metropolitan cities • Includes industrial, retail and office customers • Additional locations for existing customers in MTOBS Growth Opportunity • Potential market: over 5 million unique business locations Favorable trends: Cloud, SaaS, WFH, Virtual Business (Zoom), IoT Cogent Advantages • Price per connection is relatively equivalent · Truly dedicated, non-oversubscribed bandwidth • Connected right to the heart of the internet Faster installation: Avg. installs 63 days vs 90 days • Real time monitoring • Industry leading SLAs Growing Addressable Market 30,000 Growth in # of Off-Net Buildings Served 25,000 Q1 2015 - Q3 2023 20,000- 15,000 CAGR: 14.6% 27,826 10,000 . Superior service and install SLAS 4,427 5,000 • 90% of Cogent's Off-Net customers are purchasing On-Net services 0 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016 Acquisition of Sprint Wireline business Q4 2016 Q1 2017 Q2 2017 Q3 2017 Q4 2017 Q1 2018 Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2018 Q1 2019 Q2 2019 | Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021 Q2 2021 Q3 2021 Q4 2021 Q1 2022 Q2 2022 Q3 2022 Q4 2022 Q1 2023 *Q2 2023 *Q3 2023 5#6the netcentric IP opportunity Market Players Competitors National Regional • Lumen Technologies • AT&T Verizon • NTT • DT • Tata • Arelion (prev. Telia) Customers Connect in Data Centers Streaming/OTT • . CDNs • Access Networks/ISPS • ASPS Market Dynamics • New applications drive bandwidth - File Sharing/Gaming/Video/Streaming • Product sold on a per Mbps basis from 1 Gbps to 400 Gbps • Internet connectivity is a pure commodity ― Speed, connection equivalent • Cogent prices new services at 50% of market We win on price Rapid Growth/Declining $/bit $18 ARPU (Rev/Mbit) -Avg Tbyts/s $16 $14 $12 $10 $8 $6 $4 $2 $0 cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes m Sequential Revenue Growth Growth in Netcentric Revenue Q3 2023 90 15% 80 70 10% Q1 2010 60 50 5% 40 0% 30 20 -5% 10 -10% Avg 2.0% *Includes revenue growth from acquisition of Sprint Wireline business in May 60#7the netcentric WAVE opportunity Market Players Competitors Global Regional • Lumen Technologies • Windstream • Zayo Uniti Cogent Advantages • Unique and physical diverse network along railways • Cogent owns the fiber • Rapid provisioning • Ubiquities locations • Simplicity of doing business • Cogent's US-owned and carrier neutral data center footprint provides the largest reach to sell wavelengths Customers Industries such as finance, healthcare, media and telecommunications carriers, ISPs, where very large amounts of data need to be transferred securely and quickly Growth Opportunity • North American market for wavelength sales currently estimated at $2 billion annually. • The wavelength market is expected to grow at 7% per year for next six years. Wavelength Applications • Data center interconnection Regional Network connectivity • Data replication • Research and educational networks (RENS) • Transfer of highly secure military and financial data cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 7#8the enterprise opportunity Market Players Competitors . AT&T • Verizon • BT Global Services • Orange Business Services • Lumen Technologies • T Systems • Verizon • Telephonica Cogent Advantages • Global IP Network in 54 countries Large global salesforce • Low cost connectivity • Over 587 off-net carrier relationships • Over 1,588 CNDCs Globally on-net Growth Opportunity • Most existing providers are now only focusing on their domestic markets while Cogent is global • Supporting multiple VPN protocols Easy to provision VPLS available globally Existing Activity • Over 250 existing Enterprise Accounts • Cogent will support both new VPLS and legacy MPLS services cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 8#9customer segmentation corporate Connections: 55,045 Revenue Share: 44% Traffic Share: 5% netcentric enterprise Connections: 20,689 Connections: 62,291 Revenue Revenue 34% 22% Share: Share: Traffic Share: 95% Traffic Share: 0.01% Geography: North America Geography: Global Geography: Global Professional Services Clients: (Law Firms, Accounting, Insurance) Access Networks - ILECS, Cable, ISPS Clients: CDNs Clients: Financial Services Streaming/OTT Fortune 500 Corporations, Corporations w/$5B rev Financial Institutions Healthcare Companies Universities, Schools Online Gamers Service Service Service MTOBS Data Centers MTOBS & Data Centers Locations: Locations: Locations: 4+ Years: 67% Longevity: Longevity: 1+ Years: 92% 4+ Years: 49% 1+ Years: 84% Longevity: 4+ Years: 79% 1+ Years: 94% Monthly Churn: 1.4%* Monthly Churn: 2.3%* Monthly Churn: 0.9%* * As of June 30, 2023 total non-core customer connections included 8,486 Session Initiation Protocol ("SIP") customer connections. This non-core product was has been discontinued. There were no SIP non-core customer connections as of September 30, 2023. These monthly churn numbers exclude SIP churn, but include other non-core product churn. cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 9#10highly focused sales organization Large Salesforce 10 10 Consistent Productivity Sales Rep Productivity (orders per month) Q1 2010 Q3 2023 700 Salesforce Growth Q1 2010 Q3 2023 647 600 500 CAGR: 6.8% 400 300 262 200 100 0 8- 6 Avg 5.2 4 2 0 1234 * Acquisition of Sprint Wireline business Systematic Process Direct Sales Force Web Marketing Tele- Marketing 400 contacts 24 appointments 12 proposals 3.6* orders Salespeople typically win over 40% of On-Net Proposals * Rep productivity was exceptionally high in Q2 2023 at 9.2 units per month because it included 9,084 customer connections sold to T-Mobile under a "commercial services agreement". Also contributing to the lower than usual rep productivity is the impact of the former Sprint sales reps that joined Cogent from the Sprint Business who are not yet fully productive. cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 000000000 * Includes TMUSA "Commercial Agreement" for services consisting of 9,084 orders installed in May. Salesforce Performance •Simple products; robust training investment Success at building the global sales team • Highly leveraged compensation 10#11business breakout REVENUE Q3 2023 GEOGRAPHY MARKET SEGMENT 6% 10% 10% 22% 34% 84% 45% TRAFFIC 46% Q3 2023 CUSTOMER CONNECTIONS Q3 2023 6% 20% 74% 45% PRODUCT TYPE 2% 1% 12% 44% ON-NET/OFF-NET 4% 20% 20% 7% 27% 21% 85% 1% 2% 5% 2% <1% 98% 95% 98% On Net Off Net 5%<1% 15% 8% 10% 11% 40% 26% 10% 6% 85% 38% 1% On-Net Corporate US Europe CA, MX, SA, AF &AP Corporate Netcentric Enterprise IP (DIA & Transit Colo (Rack & Power) VPN Wave On-Net Netcentric On-Net Enterprise Non-core cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes Off-Net Corporate O Off-Net Netcentric Off-Net Enterprise 11#12Marsalle broad, deep, scaleable network cogent Fancourer Kamloops Eranton Mumbai Portland Bord San Franc Hone Keno Santa Clara Sydner Auckland Boise Coloring Onata De Moines Denser Mike Ridida Same Worcester Boston Heston Albe Bado he Newark Ann Arbor Cowland Philade New York Toledo Pittsburgh d Karnes City St. Louis Herndon Ononnati Gambard Nashville Charlotte Les Angles Orange County Oklahoma City kisa Morches Albuqamque Proes Birmingham Atlanta Jackson Fort Worth Dallas Jacksowile Actin Housto New Orleara San Antonie Tampa West Pain Boash Laredo Fort Lauderda Monterrey On-Net and Off-Net Market On-Nat and Off-Net Market with Cogent Cate Contorts) Network Route Kuester Guadalshes Fortaleza Johannesburg Mexico City To London Route Under Construction Dublin Vigo Cambridge remen Sandon Anvar Quisedor Bruises Colgre Nantes Todo Stockhol Pragu Nuremberg uttgart Munich Vi Chisinau Utine Patien Pacua Turly Typerjan Zagr Timisoara Bucharest Behrade Madrid Valencia Tu Johan Sevilla Grenade To Mumbel To • Interconnected with 7,971 access networks 3,257 On-Net buildings 57% multi-tenant office buildings (1,860) • • 1,154 metro networks; 18,000+ metro route miles; 43,300+ metro fiber miles 61,300+ intercity fiber route miles • North America • 43% carrier neutral and Cogent data center buildings (1,397) • Europe • Agreements with 250+ building owners (REITs) • 60 Cogent data centers with ~808,800 square feet and 109 megawatts • Low cost network which is approximately 34% utilized • Transatlantic (Leased) • • • Transpacific (Leased) Transindian (Leased) Transcaribbean (Leased) ⚫ Inter-Region Up to 4,800 Gbps per city pair Up to 6,000 Gbps per city pair 4,120 Gbps (8 Providers, 10 Cables) 1,240 Gbps (5 Providers, 9 Cables) 900 Gbps (5 Providers, 3 Cables) 2,200 Gbps (4 Providers, 7 Cables) 8,460 Gbps (19 Providers, 29 Cables) cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 12 Kharkiv#13acquired Sprint network Sprint Fiber Network Owned Leased Longhaul Fiber MEXICO •19,135 Owned Fiber Route Miles . 11,376 Leased Fiber Route Miles* Metro Fiber • 1,259 Owned Metro Fiber Route Miles • 4,047 Leased Metro Fiber Route Miles* * Cogent intends to exit these uneconomical fiber leases and utilize Cogent IRU fiber cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 13#14network architecture IRU/owned fiber Our network is facilities based- IRUS on fiber & ownership of all optronics and routing equipment. • Longhaul and metro backbone is built from a diverse set of 321 IRU suppliers . Owned fiber allows unique rights of way IRUS from 10 to 44 years; many are pre-paid and have diverse end dates • O+M expenses are calculated by share of fiber pairs thereby reducing the cost to Cogent of maintaining a network Cogent's IP network is ring protected at Layer 3 (IP convergence) All transport is IP directly over DWDM and CWDM Cogent generally owns lateral connections from the metro rings to the building Cogent owns riser facilities in multi-tenant buildings Cogent owns 60 data centers and 210 hubs that house core network equipment 4 of the 60 Cogent Data Centers were buildings acquired through the Sprint acquisition and converted into data centers. There are 41 more buildings totaling over 1 million square feet and approximately 100 megawatts of power Cogent has acquired 482 technical buildings to be used to further expand the network Wave network will be directly connected to 777 US CNDCs cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 14#15cogent's network advantage Cogent's network offers substantial cost and operating advantages Choice IP over DWDM Simple Vendor/ Configuration LT Lease of Fiber Pairs Ownership of lateral and riser facilities Ring architecture to all on- net customers Narrow, simple product line Waves & Colo Implication • Simple, predictable performance • Lowest cost network ⚫'Southwest Airlines' cost and operating advantages • Reduced capital intensity and operating costs Sole fiber access to most corp. customers •Industry leading SLAs for installation and performance • Low cost support • Reduced sales training and costs • Unique Routes ⚫ Ubiquitous locations •Fast provisioning Low cost cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 15#16big, diverse & balanced global IP network Access to Business/Residential Customers Worldwide • 55,045 corporate connections primarily in North America •In 1,860 On-Net MTOBS • 27,826 Off-Net Buildings 1,588 On-Net Data Centers* Eyeballs 'Network Effect' A growing portion of Cogent's traffic, currently 71%, originates and terminates on-net • Dense Global Footprint 1,588 On-Net Data Centers* • 227 Markets • 54 Countries *These data centers are located in 1,397 buildings cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes • 7,971 Access Networks • Settlement Free Peers with 21 networks Tier 1 peering status Footprint / Network Leading Share of Content Providers • OTT Media Services • Gaming Providers ⚫ CDN Networks • ASP Content 16#17proven integration execution Cogent purchased $34 BILLION of original investment for $60 MILLION. Cogent has acquired $815 MILLION of cash Date Investment Original PP&E NetRail Sep 2001 $180 $35 Allied Riser Feb 2002 $590 $335 PSINet* Apr 2002 $5,180 $2,175 (Fiber Network Solutions, Inc) FNSI Feb 2003 $30 $5 Firstmark Jan 2004 $1,100 $560 Carrier 1* Mar 2004 $1,035 $535 UFO Group Aug 2004 $25 $5 Global Access Sep 2004 $10 $5 Aleron Broadband Oct 2004 $200 $5 Verio* Dec 2004 $5,700 $390 Sprint (T-Mobile Wireline) May 2023 ~$20,000 $14,500 TOTAL ($ in millions) $34,050 $18,550 Network cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes *Purchased the majority of assets of these companies. This list does not include Applied Theory, FiberCity Networks, OnSite Access, Last Mile Connections, PacWest, and ANet. 17 Peering Customers Building Access#188% 6% 4% 2% 0% -2% -4% 2010 Q2 2010 **Q1 2012 cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes -10% -5% Q1 2010 Q2 2010 Q3 2010 0% 5% 10% 15% Corporate revenue is North American. revenue growth Sequential Corporate Revenue Growth Q1 2010 Q3 2023 15% Sequential NetCentric Revenue Growth Q1 2010 Q3 2023 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016 02 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016 Q4 2016 2017 Qtrly Avg 2.7% * Corporate revenue grew substantially in Q2 as a result of the acquisition of Sprint Wireline business. Q2 2017 Q4 2017 2018 Q3 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 23 2020 2020 Q1 2021 Q2 2021 Q3 2021 Q4 2021 Q1 2022 Q2 2022 Q3 2022 10% Pandemic 5% Q4 2022 Q1 2023 8202 20* *Q2 2023 *Q3 2023 -10% -5% Q1 2010 0% $70 Sequential Total Revenue Growth Q1 2010 Q3 2023 $60 Q1 2010 Q3 2023 $50 $40 $30 Qtrly Avg 2.9% $20 سبس..س..lllllll T $10 $0 יוױון -$10 * Loss of Megaupload in Q1 of 2012 and acquisition of Sprint in Q2 of 2023. Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2018 6LOZ 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 ozoz zo Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021 Q2 2021 Q3 2021 Q4 2021 Q1 2022 Q2 2022 Q3 2022 Q4 2022 Q1 2023 * Q2 2023 *Q3 2023 22 Qtrly Avg 2.0% דיון ~50% of NetCentric revenue is from outside the US. * NetCentric revenue grew substantially in Q2 as a result of the acquisition of Sprint Wireline business. Strong Unlevered Free Cash Flow* $111MM cumulative in last 4 quarters. *Calculated as EBITDA (as adjusted for Sprint (T-Mobile Wireline) acquisition costs and cash payments made under IP Transit Services Agreement) less CAPEX, which includes principal payments on IRU finance (capital) leases. 18#19historical & continuing margin expansion $300 Total Revenue by Segment ($ in millions) $250 Q1 2010 Q3 2023 $200 $150 $100 $50 $- 22222222 70% (% of revenue) Non GAAP Gross Margin 60% Q1 2010 Q3 2023 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% $250 * Off net revenue Revenue grew in all segments in Q2 as a result of the acquisition of Sprint Wireline business. On net revenue I Wavelength revenue Noncore revenue EBITDA, as Adjusted for Sprint Costs ($ in millions) & (% of revenue) $200 2010-2022 $150 $100 $50 $0 T 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 I EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint costs cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint costs Q1 2010 Q2 2010 Q3 2010 Q4 2010 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2011 Q4 2011 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q4 2012 * Acquisition of Sprint Wireline business 100% 90% 80% On-Net ARPU = $475 Q3 2023 70% - 60% Revenue Sales Commission Bad Debt Expense Operating Leverage $1.00 50% $1.00 $0.03 $0.02 $0.90 - 40% $0.80 $0.70 30% $0.60 20% $0.50 $0.95 $0.40 10% $0.30 0% $0.20 $0.10 $0.00 Q4 2016 Q1 2017 TOZ ZO Q3 2017 Q4 2017 Q1 2018 Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2018 Q1 2019 Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 03 2020 04 2020 Q1 2021 Q2 2021 Q3 2021 Q4 2021 Q1 2022 Q2 2022 Q3 2022 Q4 2022 Q1 2023 *Q2 2023 *Q3 2023 Off-Net ARPU = $1,156 Q3 2023 Sales Bad Debt Operating Revenue Commission Expense Local Loops Leverage $1.00 $0.03 $0.02 $0.50 $1.00 $0.90 $0.80 $0.70 $0.60 $0.50 $0.40 $0.30 $0.45 $0.20 $0.10 $0.00 19#20investing: increasing returns, demand driven, all funded internally 120 100 Capital Expenditures and Principal Payments on IRU Finance (Capital) Leases ($ in millions) 2010-2023 YTD * 58.5 45.5 80 60 18.2 60 19.1 15.5 16.8 11.2 23.1 24.0 10.3 20.2 12.5 11.2 9.1 52.8 45.9 44.3 49.0 60.0 35.6 45.2 45.8 20 20 49.9 47.0 56.0 69.9 40 40 0 2010 700 600 500 400 300 200 2011 79.0 86.0 2020 2021 2022 2023 YTD 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ■CapEx ■Principal Payments on IRU Finance (Capital) Leases * Assumed Sprint Capital Leases Growing Returns (Revenue to CapEx & Principal Payments on IRU Finance (Capital) Leases) ($ in millions) 2010-2023 YTD 2019 2016 2017 2018 2020 CapEx and Principal Payments on IRU Finance (Capital) Leases / Revenue 100 0 2010 2011 2012 Revenue 2013 2014 2015 cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 30% 25% - 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 2021 2022 2023 YTD 20#21highlights Q3 2023 RESULTS ($ in millions) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q/Q% Y/Y% 2022 2022 2022 2022 2023 2023* 2023 Change Change On-Net Revenue $112.6 $112.0 $113.2 $114.9 $116.1 $127.7 $130.0 1.9% 14.9% Wavelength Revenue $1.6 $3.0 88.8% Off-Net Revenue $36.4 $36.3 $36.6 $36.9 $37.3 $102.0 $130.1 28.4% 257.7% Non-Core Revenue $0.2 $0.2 $0.2 $0.2 $0.2 $8.6 $11.4 33.2% 6616.1% Total Revenue $149.2 $148.5 $150.0 $152.0 $153.6 $239.9 $275.4 14.9% 83.6% Gross Profit (Non-GAAP) $91.9 $92.1 $93.0 $95.1 $95.1 $102.5 $102.2 (0.3)% 9.9% Gross Margin (Non-GAAP) 61.6% 62.0% 62.0% 62.6% 61.9% 42.8% 37.1% (5.7)% (24.9)% EBITDA $57.2 $58.5 $57.9 $57.1 $56.1 $24.2 $43.6 80.4% (24.7)% EBITDA Margin 38.3% 39.4% 38.6% 37.6% 36.5% 10.1% 15.8% 5.7% (22.8)% EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit $57.2 $58.5 $59.9 $57.4 $56.5 $54.1 $131.4 143.1% 119.5% Services Agreement EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit 38.3% 39.4% 39.9% 37.8% 36.8% 22.5% 47.7% 25.2% 7.8% Services Agreement Margin *Acquisition of Sprint Wireline business cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 21#22highly disciplined allocator of capital Cogent is focused on driving profitability and efficiently allocating capital. . M&A Discipline: Cogent has evaluated and passed on 825 acquisitions since 2005. Sprint (T-Mobile Wireline) Acquisition: Cogent paid $1 for the Purchased Interests О Less a commitment from T-Mobile to purchase $700 Million in IP Transit services from Cogent in the 54 months post-closing Cogent receives payments for working capital deficit which includes acquired cash and cash equivalents in months 55 to 58 after the Closing Date Acquisition bargain purchase gain $1.2 Billion, or $23.97 per share Cost Discipline: Cogent has improved its EBITDA and Adjusted Gross Margin consistently over 20 years. Returning Capital: Cogent has returned over $1.3 Billion to shareholders since our 2005 public offering. Bought back over 10MM shares. Management Ownership: Senior Management owns approximately 11% of Cogent and gets compensated primarily in stock. Dividend Record: Cogent has increased its dividend for 45 straight quarters sequentially. cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 22#23consistent return of capital; modest leverage $1,500 $1,000 $500 2007* 2008 2009 *Includes June 2007 Note Transaction Cumulative Total Return of Capital by type ($M) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 YTD Cumulative Total Share Buyback Cumulative Total Dividends Paid Net Debt/LTM EBITDA* 5.0 4.2 4.2 4.0 3.4 3.6 3.0 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.0 2.4 2.4 2.1 1.8 2.0 1.6 1.6 1.5 1.6 1.0 H T 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 YTD * EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit Services Agreement cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 23#24investment highlights Cogent is a leading global Internet Service Provider. Fundamentals provide for continued, consistent growth and profitability Focused on fastest growth products in Telecommunications Independent, low-cost international network Network footprint targeted at high traffic locations Substantial network capacity; very high operating leverage with low capital intensity Entry into North American market for wavelength sales currently estimated at $2 billion annually Extensive Cogent owned data center footprint Entry into the sale of dark fiber nationally and regionally along unique routes and rights-of-way Proven ability to grow top line and drive margin exposure and cash flow growth Management committed to returning increasing amounts of capital to shareholders cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 24#25cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes Cogent Communications Holdings, Inc.#26Appendix Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 26#27Non-GAAP EBITDA and non-GAAP EBITDA, as adjusted, reconciled to GAAP cash flows provided by operating activities Q1 2022 Q2 2022 Q3 2022 Q4 2022 Q1 2023 Q2 2023 Q3 2023 ($ in 000's) unaudited Net cash flows provided by operating activities Changes in operating assets and liabilities Cash interest expense and income tax expense EBITDA (1) PLUS: Sprint (T-Mobile Wireline) acquisition costs. $49,411 $34,403 $53,570 $36,323 (6,294) 5,108 (13,017) 4,152 $35,821 1,435 $82,654 $(90,373) 14,038 18,946 17,320 16,663 18,797 $57,155 $58,457 $57,873 $57,138 $56,053 31,875 $24,156 $(52,433) $51,064 44,956 $43,587 2,004 244 400 $739 $351 PLUS: Cash payments made to the Company under IP Transit Services Agreement EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint (T-Mobile Wireline) acquisition costs and IP Transit Services Agreement (1) = = = 29,167 87,500 $57,155 $58,457 $59,877 $57,382 $56,453 $54,062 $131,438 EBITDA margin (1) 38.3% 39.4% 38.6% 37.6% 36.5% 10.1% 15.8% EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint (T-Mobile Wireline) acquisition costs and IP Transit Services Agreement, margin (1) 38.3% 39.4% 39.9% 37.8% 36.8% 22.5% 47.7% Non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross margin reconciled to GAAP gross profit and GAAP gross margin Q1 2022 Q2 2022 Q3 2022 Q4 2022 Q1 2023 Q2 2023 Q3 2023 ($ in 000's) unaudited Service revenue total $149,175 $148,450 $150,000 $151,979 $153,588 $239,806 $275,429 Minus - Network operations expense including equity-based compensation and including depreciation and amortization expense 80,137 79,585 80,117 80,535 83,798 190,013 260,328 GAAP Gross Profit (2) $69,038 $68,865 Plus Equity-based compensation - network operations expense 144 145 $69,883 176 $71,444 $69,790 88 149 $49,793 231 $15,101 370 Plus Depreciation and amortization expense Non-GAAP Gross Profit (3) 22,688 $91,870 23,071 $92,081 22,897 $92,956 GAAP Gross Margin (2) Non-GAAP Gross Margin (3) 46.3% 61.6% 46.4% 62.0% 46.6% 62.0% 23,563 $95,095 47.0% 62.6% 25,160 $95,099 $52,511 $102,535 $86,734 $102,205 45.4% 20.8% 5.5% 61.9% 42.8% 37.1% (1) (2) (3) EBITDA represents net cash flows provided by operating activities plus changes in operating assets and liabilities, cash interest expense and cash income tax expense. Management believes the most directly comparable measure to EBITDA calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP, is net cash provided by operating activities. The Company also believes that EBITDA is a measure frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties in their evaluation of issuers. EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit Services Agreement, represents EBITDA plus costs related to the Company's acquisition of Sprint's Wireline Business. EBITDA margin is defined as EBITDA divided by total service revenue. EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint acquisition costs and cash payments under IP Transit Services Agreement margin is defined as EBITDA, as adjusted for Sprint (T-Mobile Wireline) acquisition costs and IP Transit Agreement, divided by total service revenue. GAAP gross profit is defined as total service revenue less network operations expense, depreciation and amortization and equity based compensation included in network operations expense. GAAP gross margin is defined as GAAP gross profit divided by total service revenue. Non-GAAP gross profit represents service revenue less network operations expense, excluding equity-based compensation and amounts shown separately (depreciation and amortization expense). Non-GAAP gross margin is defined as non-GAAP gross profit divided by total service revenue. Management believes that non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP gross margin are relevant metrics to provide to investors, as they are metrics that management uses to measure the margin and amount available to the Company after network service costs, in essence these are measures of the efficiency of the Company's network. cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes 27#28ESG efforts Cogent is focused on Environmental, Social, and Governance Cogent is focusing on its ESG performance and improving and broadening its disclosure: Environmental • Provided detailed performance characteristics and carbon footprint related to its Network Backbone. • Carbon emissions from Network Backbone declined in 2022. 75% reduction in power used per Bit mile over the past 5 years. Constructed a 1 megawatt solar facility in Pasadena, California in 2022. Social • . (ESG) . • Provided detailed strategies and disclosures about our capabilities and our engagement activities. Governance • Appointed a minority director to the Board of Directors in December 2021. Stockholders approved an increase to the size of the Board of Directors in May 2022, creating two new vacancies. The Board appointed a minority woman to fill one of the vacancies in May 2022, and a woman to fill the second vacancy in June 2022. As of January 2023, our Board was 33% women and 22% minority. cogent Smart People Buy Dumb Pipes Cogent ESG activity can be tracked on our website at www.cogentco.com 28