Acquisition news:
..but not the one I was anticipating. Still, it looks interesting. I still need to finish reading and digesting before commenting.
WinStar Acquires Community School Networks
October 27, 1997 06:50 AM
NEW YORK--Oct. 27, 1997--
Wireless Fiber(SM) Services to be Used to Speed Internet Access to Nations Classrooms
WINSTAR COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (NASDAQ WCII) announced today that it has acquired Community School Networks, Inc., (CSNet) csnet.net, one of the nation's foremost providers of high-speed Internet access services and specialized software for schools and libraries. The joining of WinStar's wireless broadband telecommunications services with CSNet's Internet expertise will help students, teachers and librarians around the country tap into the many educational resources available on the World Wide Web.
CSNet presently serves school districts in the New York City metropolitan area, and is poised to begin expanding its reach to new markets. Its programs are applicable to almost 50 million students and their teachers across the nation. With its 38 GHz Wireless Fiber(SM) technology, WinStar is uniquely positioned to provide schools and libraries with the broadband telecommunications services associated with high-speed Internet access. Schools and libraries can be linked to the Internet through WinStar's fixed wireless network much more rapidly and economically than is possible with fiber-based telephone carriers.
Since its founding, CSNet has focused on helping the nation's 110,000 elementary and secondary schools use the Internet in education. The company has developed innovative, Internet-based applications and educational programs that enable teachers and librarians to integrate the Internet into the school curriculum and produce real results in the classroom. The CSNet application suite provides schools and libraries with the tools to create their own "electronic libraries;" create forums for discussion and debate; engage in collaborative projects; and participate in electronic journeys that connect students and educators around the world.
William J. Rouhana, Jr., WinStar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said today, "WinStar's nationwide fixed wireless telecommunications network provides the 'on ramps' which elementary and secondary schools need to quickly begin traveling the information superhighway. The recent creation of the Universal Service E-rate fund will make it possible for Internet-based learning tools to be used in the nation's inner-city schools and libraries. It is critically important to the country that the rich and diverse educational content of the Internet be made available to all students in classrooms everywhere."
Rouhana stated the acquisition of CSNet complements WinStar's developing role as a provider of customized information for the business community. Like its business customers, WinStar's education customers will also benefit from the information services available through WinStar New Media, which include non-fiction and documentary programming produced for such cable outlets as Arts & Entertainment Network, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and Lifetime Television. As pointed out by Rouhana, "WinStar will be the only telecommunications company positioned to supply schools and libraries with education content as well as broadband, high-speed Internet access. We believe this will enable us to have a real impact and help produce a measurable difference in the classroom."
CSNet will be renamed WinStar for Education and be operated as part of WinStar Telecommunications which provides small and medium-sized business customers, and now educational institutions, with a single source for local, long distance, Internet access and other data services. The acquisition will not materially impact WinStar's 1997 financial results. |
