Press Release
Wireless Communications Association (WCA) Honors Winstar With Awards for ASP Leadership and Government Services
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--JAN. 18, 2001--WINSTAR COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (NASDAQ: WCII - news), a leading broadband services company, announced today that it has received separate Wireless Communications Association (WCA) awards for ASP (application service provider) industry leadership and for the company's groundbreaking efforts to provide broadband services to the federal government. Winstar will be presented with the two tributes at an awards banquet this evening, as part of the WCA's Seventh Annual Wireless Technical Symposium, which is taking place from January 17-19 in San Jose, California.
The company was selected for these awards, known as ``Wemmies,'' by a distinguished panel of fixed wireless broadband industry leaders. This panel was charged with recognizing the companies and individuals that have had the greatest impact on the development and delivery of fixed wireless broadband technologies.
``Through its ASP vision and its success within the federal government's Metropolitan Area Acquisition (MAA) program, Winstar continues to establish itself as a leading broadband services company,'' said WCA President Andrew Kreig. ``As Winstar's efforts clearly illustrate, the acceptance of broadband fixed wireless as a highly reliable, rapidly deployable and cost effective last-mile broadband technology continues to grow in the marketplace.''
The WCA panel selected Winstar as the winner of the award for ``Best Application Service Provider Vision & Deployment.'' Winstar's ASP strategy focuses on providing advanced business applications over its widely available broadband network. During the past year, Winstar entered into a number of groundbreaking strategic alliances with leading software makers, including Microsoft, Oracle and Great Plains, as well as top equipment makers such as Cisco and Compaq. As a result of these relationships, Winstar has evolved into one of the world's leading ASPs, offering Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Office Online, as well as Oracle database, ERP and CRM applications.
Winstar also won a WCA award in the category of the ``Best Agreements with Government to Build a New Market or Service Through Fixed Wireless.'' Throughout 2000, Winstar secured 11 MAA contracts, valued at up to $2.7 billion, from the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service. Winstar is the only broadband services company and provider of broadband fixed wireless services that has been approved to provide data and voice services to the metropolitan offices of federal government agencies in these 11 markets. Until Winstar secured these contracts, all previous awards had been made to incumbent local exchange carriers and/or AT&T.
``These honors from the WCA are further evidence that our very focused efforts to aggressively grow our ASP and government service businesses are paying off,'' said Nate Kantor, president and chief operating officer for Winstar. ``The ASP and government markets highlight both the functionality and reach of our broadband network and services. Each initiative will continue to be a key area of focus within our overall business strategy.''
About WCA & Its Technical Symposium
WCA is the major non-profit trade association for the fixed wireless broadband industry, with 430 member companies on six continents that represent the vast bulk of the world's leading carriers, vendors and consultants. WCA's annual Technical Symposium annually gathers operators who are using group action to provide guidance to vendors, standards bodies and regulators on technical issues that will be vital for successful BWA deployments. This year's Symposium is chaired by Dr. Jay Ramasastry of Winstar Communications, with Nortel Networks (www.nortelnetworks.com) as the lead sponsor. The other major sponsors are Ensemble Communications, ADC, Adaptive Broadband, Thomcast, Aperto Networks and Alcatel. Details, registration and photos of honorees available through WCA's website: wcai.com |
