PROGRESS REPORT
October 9, 1996
TO: TRIQUANTA INVESTORS
FROM: BOB MESSENGER
SUBJECT: HOWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
It has been some time since you have had an update on the telephone side of our business. This report will give you some insights into the opportunities and concerns we are working with on a daily basis.
As you may recall from last year, Triquanta sold a switch to the Romanian army. Along with the PBX unit we provided them with a complete set of installation and operating manuals for the Dimension system. The Army's engineers installed and studied the operation of this system and last week, Lieutenant Colonel Medar, located at the Romanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., issued a purchase order for additional cards for the switch. In addition, he has requested that our company representatives should come to Washington, as soon as possible, to meet with him and discuss the additional requirements for PBX equipment for the military. They have requested information on costs and the availability of various payment options. The meeting will take place the week of October 14, 1996, and it is expected to
be substantive. You will be kept informed of progress in these negotiations.
During the same week a meeting will occur with the Minster of Telecommunications for Haiti, in either New York or Washington D.C.. This high level meeting has been arranged by one of our shareholders, Mr. Bahsin, who is making a significant investment in the Haitian tourist industry. We strongly believe that we can demonstrate the cost benefits of utilizing our Dimension systems in the advancement of the infrastructure in Haiti. The ability of the government to make any funding they may have available, for bringing telecommunications services to the people, go much further, being the most obvious. The chance to meet with government officials at this level is a distinct advantage to the company and we would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Bahsin, for arranging this introduction.
We have made significant progress in discussions with Distributors and end-users in two other major markets. News of an initial order, from either source, could come at any time. Once again we will keep you informed of new developments in these areas.
2 - Finally, and probably most important to most of you, an update on Belarus.
As we have previously informed you, the Dimension system completed its
Certification or "Type Approval" testing in July of this year. At that point the Ministry of Telecommunications allowed our Distributor to again advertise and solicit orders for this PBX equipment. Just as this process was being completed it was discovered that one of the major Central Office (C.O.) switches in Minsk, the capital and largest city in the Country, was notinteracting properly with the Dimension system. To overcome this problem we have had to modify the circuit boards in the PBX. To modify these boards we have used ex-AT&T/Bell Labs engineers, some of whom worked on the original design of these Dimension systems. I would like to point out that this problem is unique in their experience. They have built circuit boards for use in China, Russia and many other countries over the last 5 years and have never had a problem such as that created by this Czechoslovakian designed C.O. switch.
We have now been working on this situation for the last two months and the problem has now been resolved. The new circuit boards will be in Dallas, this week, for final testing by Howell and representatives for Pavis, LLC, our Distributor. The circuit boards will then be Fed Ex'd to Belarus. These boards have already been bench tested by their manufactures in Miami, Florida, and met the specifications and functionality we required. Because this C.O. switch services one-half of Minsk, it is very important that we can offer our Dimension PBX's to customers who receive their primary service from this source. We now feel we are in a position to do so, and expect confirmation on our first significant order, shortly. Our Russian partner, Intelcros, has demonstrated their confidence in this project, by today ordering a custom configured switch, to be air freighted to Belarus, as soon as possible.
I realize this ramp-up of our development has taken longer than any of us could have anticipated, however I am confident we are on the threshold of major progress in a number of markets. I also believe, that once the first market is opened up, all those investors and investment advisors who have been following our company's progress, without participating, will want to do so.
Presently, we have over 15,000 individuals on our in-house data base, only 7 or 8% of whom are presently shareholders. They receive our Progress Reports by e mail or fax, and as you are aware, it is very simple to have your name removed from this list and yet they continue to follow our progress. This would indicate that the company has a large audience in the investment community. It is my belief that with a commencement of orders from any of the Distributors we are presently working with, we will see significant market activity as some of the other 92% of those following the company, become shareholders.
In conclusion, I want to thank you for your patience and I encourage you to continue to support our goal of developing shareholder value through our investments in the telecommunication and internet industries.
For further information on Triquanta Investments Limited (symbol TQT on the Alberta Stock Exchange), please contact Warren Smith at 1 800 719 9960 or Fax 1 800 719 9981, or e mail TQTAlberta@aol.com |
