Now all they need is money!
Franklin's FNet Teams with GTE to Offer ADSL Service; FNet FastLink A Bargain for Business at 25 Times 56K Modem Speed
November 25, 1998
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS
WIRE)FNet
Corp., an IP Telephony and Internet
subsidiary of Franklin Telecom Tuesday
announced that in cooperation with GTE it
has begun installation to provide ADSL
service in Southern California.
As a participating ISP with GTE,
www.gte.com/dsl/partisp.html, FNet's initial
area of service will be LATA 5 (Local Access
Transport Area), which includes most of
Southern California south of Santa Barbara,
including the L.A. metropolitan area.
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is
an established modem-based technology that
is now being used to enable a dedicated
connection to the Internet that is up to 25
times faster than conventional 56K modems.
This technology facilitates simultaneous
transmission of voice and data on an existing
phone line. ADSL features what is known as
"always on technology" which means it
provides instant access to the Net with no
dialing, no waiting, no busy signals, and no
need for a separate data line.
At present this service is available to
customers within approximately a three mile
radius of their central office. According to
telephone company estimates, nationwide,
approximately 40% of households and
businesses meet this criteria with a higher
percentage in metropolitan areas. At
present, only about 2.5% (representing 20
million subscribers) of telco central offices
are conditioned for DSL but because of
demand, increasing this percentage is a high
priority.
According to Frank Peters, Chairman & CEO
of Franklin, "FNet FastLink goes a long way
toward putting small businesses on a more
equal footing with their larger competitors by
providing them service which was, up until
now, only affordable by much larger
companies. Since the outset, FNet has
focused on corporate and professional
Internet usage, so getting in on the very
ground floor of a service with this potential is
extremely satisfying. FNet FastLink will bring
our customers the fastest available download
speeds and position them to take advantage
of the many rapidly emerging Internet
features such as e-commerce, streaming
content and full-motion video."
Peters went on to explain, "One key point is
that unlike ISDN, which, by the way is much
slower than ADSL, FastLink is not usage
sensitive. The service does not charge by
the minute. Acceptable usage policy will
apply. "
Peters added, "This move is facilitated by the
OC24 optical fiber which was installed by GTE
in our Westlake Village headquarters. This
assures us of full capability to handle the
widespread anticipated demand for this
service. "
During the current FastLink pilot program,
customers may visit www.franklin.net to
prequalify their location for service. FNet will
begin taking orders Dec. 7 for FastLink
service throughout Southern California.
Pricing and levels of available service will be
announced December 1 on our web site. The
range of pricing will start at $70 for 256K
ADSL including Internet Access. Average
installation time is four weeks.
The primary business of Franklin Telecom,
founded in 1981, is the design and
manufacturing of communications devices,
high speed LAN, WAN, Telco and Satellite
Systems and software. Franklin customers
have installed over 100,000 nodes worldwide.
Franklin's Internet subsidiary FNet provides
Voice over Internet Protocol global Telco
services.
Certain statements in this press release
constitute "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such
forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which may cause the actual results,
performance, or achievements of the
company to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements,
expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements.
For additional information about this
announcement, visit the Officer's Message
page at Franklin's Web Site: www.ftel.com;
www.franklin.net - for Internet Services and
Access; www.fnet.net - for Internet
Telephony & Franklin's Next Generation
Telephone Company.
CONTACT: Franklin Telecom, Westlake Village
| Helen West, 805/373-8688
[Copyright 1998, Business Wire]
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