Thursday May 14, 3:56 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
CTIG Announces Technology Transfer and Joint Development Partnership with US WATS
Companies take dead aim on convergence billing with source code exchange and personnel shifts
VALLEY FORGE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 1998-- CTI Group (Holdings) Inc. (OTC:CTIG - news) has entered into a preliminary agreement with US WATS (NASDAQ:USWI - news) for product enhancements and ongoing joint development of the NEPTUNE Telecommunications Billing and Customer Care System produced by CTIG's U.S.-subsidiary, CTI Data Solutions Inc.
The agreement is subject to completion of a definitive agreement which is scheduled to close by June 30, 1998.
Upon signing the definitive agreement, CTI Data Solutions will supply to US WATS a copy of the source code for its Windows NT-based NEPTUNE software which currently serves tier 2 and tier 3 long-distance carriers. In return, U.S. WATS will make a payment of $400,000 to CTI Data Solutions and will supply to CTI Data Solutions a copy of its source code for its legacy billing software.
CTI Data Solutions will reverse engineer the US WATS code for integration within NEPTUNE to enhance the product's overall dynamics. CTI Data Solutions will also expand NEPTUNE's capabilities to include billing for wireless services for which US WATS will make a further payment of $50,000 upon completion and acceptance.
US WATS, on behalf of the partnership, will expand NEPTUNE's billing capabilities to include local services with the aid of some CTI Data Solutions development staff who will transfer to US WATS' employment.
The strategic partnership benefits both companies in the surging world telecommunications industry where carriers like US WATS and back-office-systems vendors like CTI Data Solutions must expand and integrate convergent multiple-services capabilities to remain competitive.
CTIG's Chairman and CEO, Anthony P. Johns said that the partnership ''shocks the timetable for NEPTUNE's long-term development into a fast-forward mode.'' Since its introduction in 1996 as a futuristic open-architecture platform best-suited for convergence billing, NEPTUNE has been successfully deployed only to core clients engaged in long distance resale and termination.
Ongoing support of core clients with custom programming requirements have been delaying development of the product's capabilities to integrate call rating for wireless and local exchange services.
Said Johns, ''We gain the financing and manpower to get the job done. Our fully convergent NEPTUNE product will be deliverable this Fall and much sooner than planned had we to proceed without US WATS.''
Stephen Parker, president and CEO of US WATS, said, ''This transaction is in keeping with our stated objectives of pursuing strategic alliances to benefit our growth initiatives. The NEPTUNE system will help us to provide an even greater efficiency and quality of service to our established customers.
''It will help enable us to implement our highly aggressive agent recruitment program in all of our on-net markets and better support our entry into local services for business customers.''
CTIG, through its operating subsidiaries, provides telemanagement systems for companies and institutions to manage their telecommunications networks, and billing software and services to support telecommunications providers' customer invoicing needs.
This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to documents filed by CTIG with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the most recent Form 10-KSB.
For additional information, contact Mark H. Daugherty, chief financial officer, CTI Group (Holdings) Inc., 901 South Trooper Road, Norristown, PA 19403-2312; telephone, 610/666-1700; fax, 610/666-7707; email, ctig@ctigroup.com.
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Contact:
CTI Group Inc.
Mark H. Daugherty, CFO, 610/666-1700
Fax: 610/666-7707
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