STRM- SAO PAULO, Brazil--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 1, 1999--
StarMedia Begins Offering StarMedia Acesso in Brazil; Plans to Roll
Out Service in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico
StarMedia Network (Nasdaq:STRM.O) (www.starmedia.com), the leading
global online network for Spanish- and Portuguese- speaking audiences,
announced today the launch of its premium Internet access service in
Latin America, StarMedia Acesso/Acceso.
Available immediately in Brazil, StarMedia Network plans to roll
out StarMedia Acesso/Acceso in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico
before year's end.
StarMedia Acesso/Acceso is designed to offer Latin Americans
fast, reliable Internet connectivity, 24 hour customer support,
international account access through a single global network, a
selection of access plans, and direct access to all StarMedia Internet
products, including StarMedia Express, StarMedia BuscaWeb, StarMedia
TalkPlanet, and StarMedia Shopping, among others.
"StarMedia Acesso will offer a dynamic community experience to
the Latin American Internet user," said Fernando Espuelas, Chairman
and CEO of StarMedia. "Our new access service gives us an incredible
opportunity to get closer to the end user by offering them a premium
branded integrated solution that will set a new benchmark for service
and reliability in the region."
"As we celebrate our third anniversary, StarMedia Acesso/Acceso
reaffirms our commitment to our Latin American customers, who have
turned StarMedia into the number one online community in Latin
America. This new strategic initiative is also part of a larger plan
that began with our acquisitions this year and will position StarMedia
as a full-service new media company," added Espuelas.
StarMedia worked with AT&T (NYSE:T.N) Global Network Services,
formerly the IBM Global Network which AT&T is in the process of
acquiring from IBM, to create the new service. StarMedia Acesso/Acceso
leverages AT&T's network infrastructure, operational, billing, and
customer service capabilities, which combined with StarMedia's
powerful brand, services and products, offers Latin Americans the most
comprehensive end-to-end solution on the Web.
"AT&T is a leading supplier of data and Internet services
worldwide," said Mario Mongini, Vice-President and General Manager of
AT&T Global Network Services, Latin America. "We are very excited to
be working with StarMedia to bring easy-to-use, reliable, feature-rich
Internet access to customers in Brazil and the rest of Latin America."
StarMedia chose AT&T Virtual IP Services to provide local dial
POP (point of presence) access and configuration options, network
capacity management, around-the-clock-network care, Web-based trouble
tracking, network utilization reports, client software and multiple
billing options. The AGNS infrastructure includes more than 1,300 POPs
in 850 cities and 59 countries around the world.
The launch of StarMedia Acesso in Brazil will be supported by a
multimedia marketing campaign, which includes radio, TV, online
advertising, and the distribution of free StarMedia Acesso CD-ROMs
across major Brazilian cities.
To subscribe to StarMedia Acesso in Brazil, potential customers
can either download the software from the StarMedia home page at
www.starmedia.com.br, directly from www.starmedia.com.br/acesso or by
calling 0-800-17-0001 for a free StarMedia Acesso CD-ROM. In order to
activate the service, potential customers must register using an
international credit card.
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StarMedia Acesso in Brazil features:
-- One of the most competitively priced unlimited Internet access
services currently available nationwide, R$31.99 (US$16.65(a))
-- Free 25 MB of Web hosting space for small business or personal
home pages, the largest free Web space currently available from
an ISP nationwide
-- 50 free introductory hours of Internet access with no additional
obligations
-- Three access plans, including R$31.99 (US$16.45(a)) for
unlimited access, R$22.99 (US$11.96(a)) for 10 hours, and
R$9.99 (US$5.20(a)) for 5 hours of monthly access
-- International account access to the Internet using a single
global network infrastructure
-- V.90 and up to 128 Kbps access with ISDN, where available
-- 24 hour online customer support
-- Toll-free telephone customer support with extended business hours
-- Detailed online billing information
-- Direct access to StarMedia's proprietary services, including
StarMedia Noticias, StarMedia BuscaWeb, StarMedia TalkPlanet,
StarMedia Shopping, StarMedia Entretenimento, and StarMedia
Esportes
-- Free unlimited StarMedia Mail accounts
-- Free StarMedia screen saver
-- Free instant messaging with StarMedia Express
*T
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According to Audits & Surveys Worldwide, a leading market
research firm, Brazil represents Latin America's largest market with
an estimated 21.4 million PC users and 6.5 million Internet users. The
country accounts for approximately 45% of the 15 million Latin
Americans online today (Audits & Surveys Worldwide, 1998). The total
number of Internet users in Latin America is expected to reach 34
million in 2000, according to a recent study by Nazca Saatchi &
Saatchi.
The telecommunications sector in Brazil has grown rapidly over
the past year due to privatization. Over 16 million households in
Brazil have wired telephone service (Audits & Surveys, 1998).
About AT&T/AT&T Solutions Group
AT&T (www.att.com) is the world's premier provider of voice and
data communications, with more than 80 million customers, including
businesses, government and consumers. AT&T operates the world's
largest, most powerful long-distance network and the largest wireless
network in North America. The company is a leading supplier of data
and Internet services for businesses and the largest direct Internet
service provider to consumers in the U.S. AT&T also provides local
telephone service to a growing number of businesses.
AT&T Solutions Group (www.attsolutions.com) provides seamless
managed and outsourcing solutions that maximize the competitive
advantage of networking-based electronic commerce and other networked
applications. It uses state-of-the-art tools to operate and manage
voice, data, video and Internet /intranet services, including local
and wide area networks, PBXs, voice-processing systems and voice and
data terminals.
About StarMedia Network
StarMedia (Nasdaq:STRM.O) is the leading global online network for
Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking audiences. StarMedia offers Latin
Americans, U.S. Hispanics and Iberians a pan-regional community
experience, combined with a broad array of Spanish and Portuguese
content, tailored for regional dialects and local cultural norms.
StarMedia provides advertisers and merchants targeted access to
Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Internet users, an audience with a
highly desirable demographic profile.
Some of StarMedia's strategic relationships include Netscape
Communications, RealNetworks, Ziff-Davis, Fox Sports Latin America,
CDNow, Reuters, eBay, National Broadcasting Company, Hearst
Communications, and Fininvest. Founded in 1996, the company employs
approximately 450 people with operations in Sao Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil; Mexico City, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bogota,
Colombia; Santiago, Chile; Montevideo, Uruguay; Caracas, Venezuela;
Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; New York City, NY; Miami, FL; Los
Angeles, CA; Dallas, TX; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
StarMedia, StarMedia Network and StarMedia's logos, product and
service names are registered trademarks of StarMedia Network, Inc.
(a) Exchange rate used: R$1.921 per dollar.
This press release contains statements of a forward-looking
nature relating to future events or future financial results of
StarMedia. Investors are cautioned that such statements are only
predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially.
In evaluating such statements, investors should specifically consider
various factors which could cause actual events or results to differ
materially from those indicated from such forward-looking statements,
including the matters set forth in StarMedia's reports and documents
filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
--30--ari/sf*
CONTACT: StarMedia Network, Inc.
Romi Schutzer, 212/548-9651
romi@starmedia.net
or
AT&T
Nancy Smith, 908/221-7814
Njsmith@att.com
or
Alexander Ogilvy PR Worldwide
Rebecca Bassin, 415/923-1660
rbassin@alexanderogilvy.com
KEYWORD: NEW YORK FLORIDA CALIFORNIA TEXAS INTERNATIONAL EUROPE
LATIN AMERICA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED TELECOMMUNICATIONS
INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET PRODUCT
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