Attention Business/Technology Editors:
Hansol Telecom selects ivyNET Inc. to be its VoIP solutions partner
TORONTO, June 10 /CNW/ - The Company is pleased to report that its wholly
owned subsidiary, ivyNET Inc., has signed a ''Letter of Intent'' with South
Korean based Hansol Telecom Co., Ltd., to cooperate in the development and
marketing of IP Telephony Solutions and Services throughout South East Asia.
Within the scope of this agreement both parties intend to develop and market:
- Enterprise solutions implementing ivyNET's core IP Telephony
technology.
- An OEM relationship leveraging Hansol's brand in the Korean and Asian
market.
- International services that will utilize ivyNET's international
network and Hansol's infrastructure in Korea to carry international
telecommunications traffic between Asia and North America.
The Parties intend to jointly define relevant roles and responsibilities
in order to conclude a ''Joint Marketing Agreement'', not later than July 31,
1999. The basis of this agreement will be the provision of industry leading IP
Telephony solutions to the Asian market.
Hansol Telecom Co., Ltd. is one of 16 business units that comprise Hansol
Group, (www.hansol.co.kr), one of South Korea's largest corporations. The
information/telecommunications and manufacturing groups represent Hansol's
core businesses. Other Canadian companies partnering with Hansol include Bell
Canada International with a 23.6% interest in Hansol PCS and Abitibi
Consolidated's joint venture with Hansol Paper to form a global newsprint
organization.
Hansol Telecom President & CEO, K. M. Kim, recently advised the Company
that it established a task force in July, 1998, with the specific mandate to
identify a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) solution partner. This exercise
has concluded in the selection of ivyNET Inc.'s 51% owned subsidiary, SL
Electronics Co. Ltd., as Hansol Telecom's VoIP partner.
''We believe Hansol's decision to partner with us represents tremendous
validation of our VoIP technology. With Hansol as a partner we are immediately
positioned to access a large, existing distribution channel with the mutual
goal of building a ''brandname'' for our technology within these respective
Asian markets,'' states ivyNET President & CEO, Stephen Paquette.
Unrelated to the above, the Company reports the resignation of
Mr. Chris Sohn as an Officer and Director of the Company. Mr. Sohn will
continue to serve the Company as a consultant. Further, the Company is pleased
to announce that Mr. Sang Un Yoo has joined the Company as a member of the
Board of Directors. In addition, Mr. Yoo has assumed the position of Co-CEO of
SL Electronics Co. Ltd., a 51% controlled subsidiary of the Company. Mr. Yoo
has held numerous senior management positions in the telecommunications
industry in Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Mr. Yoo was Managing Director of Kodenshi
Telecom Division in Korea, responsible for overseas marketing of Deutsche
Telecom, British Telecom, Northwestern Bell, Ito, Triumph-Adler, and others.
His extensive international experience in the Asian market and knowledge of
business conduct and language will be relied upon in establishing OEM and
Joint Venture opportunities throughout Asia.
ivyNET is a telecommunications solutions provider offering international
long distance termination services to both existing PTT carriers and NextGen
telcos, leveraging deregulation and liberalization in foreign markets. ivyNET
enables these carriers to leverage the Internet Protocol (IP) to capture
significant cost savings in the short term and value-added applications and
services in the long term. ivyNET offers OEM IP Telephony technology to System
Integrators and VAR's, targeting enterprise and vertical niche markets.
Applications featuring the convergence of voice and data are built on ivyNET's
IP Telephony hardware and software.
ivyNET owns 51% of the shares of SL Electronies Co. Ltd. (''SL'') of
South Korea. SL is a leading supplier of IP Telephony technology in the Asian
market. Their Carrier Class Gateway will be used as the core technology
component to ivyNET's Global Carrier Services offering. SL is also a leader in
the development of IP Telephony technology based on Microsoft's Windows NT
platform. SL's focus on Windows NT development is the foundation of ivyNET's
Enterprise strategy.
ivyNET Corporation has 18,415,389 and 21,668,839 common shares issued and
outstanding on a basic and fully diluted basis respectively. The Company
trades on the Canadian Dealing Network under the symbol ''IVYN''.
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For further information: Mr. Michael Nikiforuk, Executive Vice-President
and Director, ivyNET Corporation at (416) 362-3966 |
