I-Link to Further Expand Its IP Telephony Network,
Making it Available to 60% of the U.S. Population
September 25, 1998
DRAPER, Utah, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge
Corporation -- I-Link Inc. (Nasdaq: ILNK), an enhanced
voice and data communications company, today will
announce plans to further expand its IP (Internet
protocol) telephony network in 1999, making it available
to 60 percent of the U.S. population. The announcement
will be made at I-Link's National Conference in Salt Lake
City.
"When completed in 1999, I-Link's expanded IP
telephony network will include thousands of cities in
such far-flung metropolitan areas as Atlanta, Baltimore,
Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City,
Louisville, Memphis, Minneapolis, Nashville,
Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, St.
Louis, and Washington, D.C., just to name a few," said
John Edwards, I-Link chairman and CEO. "Now that we
have proven that we can successfully layer our IP
technologies on top of any type of telecommunications
infrastructure -- be it a copper, fiber optic or mobile
system -- we are ready to bring our enhanced
communications services and great long-distance rates
to the majority of the U.S. population via our IP
telephony network."
I-Link claims to have the largest IP telephony network in
the U.S., bringing enhanced services and long-distance
rates as low as 4.9 cents per minute to customers in more
than 200 cities in the greater Los Angeles/Orange
County, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Phoenix and Salt
Lake City metro areas. (I-Link previously announced its
intent [Aug. 13] to also expand its enhanced services IP
telephony network into the New York City, Chicago,
Seattle, Orlando, Fla. and Pittsburgh, Pa. markets by Jan.
1, 1999.)
"The expansion of I-Link's IP telephony network will
make it that much easier for our representatives to sell
I-Link's enhanced and traditional communications
services," said Jon McKillip, vice president of sales and
marketing for I-Link Worldwide. "The upside is that as
we bring new areas online, more and more of the U.S.
will be able to have long-distance rates as low as 4.9
cents per minute. In addition, we will also bring local
access to V-Link(TM) -- our powerful environment for
enhanced communications services -- to more than
one-half of the U.S. population. That's also very
exciting."
"Building" a Virtual IP Network
"Interestingly, due to the design of our IP software and
our low-cost IP routers, we have been able to 'build' a
virtual IP telephony network by using new or existing
copper wire or silicon strands deployed by other
communications companies," said Bob Bryson, I-Link
vice president of product marketing. "Not only that, but
I-Link uses this infrastructure 10 times more efficiently
than existing carriers. As a result, not only do we not
have to spend hundreds of millions or billions of dollars
building a new network (as many other companies are
doing), but we also don't have to tie up as much
infrastructure to achieve our goals.
"This is not to say that we don't control and manage the
underlying infrastructure in our IP telephony network,
because we most definitely do. It's important to
remember, however, that we also created the
technologies that allow us to create this virtual IP
telephony network at a fraction of the cost. In fact, the
more of this IP telephony network we deploy, the less
expensive and more profitable it becomes to operate."
Preliminary Details of I-Link's Expanded IP Telephony
Network
Specific details of the individual calling areas served by
I-Link's expanded IP telephony network will be released
today at its National Conference in Salt Lake City. A
preliminary list of the metropolitan areas that will be
covered by I-Link's expanded IP telephony network
when fully deployed in 1999 is shown below in
alphabetical order, followed by the area code(s) which
will be fully or partially served per metro area. (A
complete list of the cities served in each metro area will
be released as I-Link's IP telephony network is
deployed.)
Akron, OH: 330
Albuquerque, NM: 505
Atlanta, GA: 404, 678
Austin, TX: 512
Bakersfield, CA: 805
Baltimore, MD: 301
Birmingham, AL: 205
Boca Raton/West Palm Beach, FL: 561
Boston, MA: 508, 617, 781, 978
Bridgeport/Hartford/New Haven, CT: 203
Charlotte, NC: 704
Chicago, IL: 312, 630, 708, 773, 847
Cincinnati, OH: 513, 606, 812
Cleveland, OH: 216, 440
Columbus, OH: 614
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX: 214, 254, 903, 940, 972
Dayton/Springfield, OH: 513, 937
Detroit, MI: 248, 313, 810
El Paso, TX: 915
Fresno, CA: 209
Ft. Lauderdale, FL: 954
Grand Rapids, WI: 616
Houston, TX: 281, 409, 713
Indianapolis, IN: 317, 765
Jacksonville, FL: 904
Kansas City, MO: 816
Las Vegas, NV: 702
Los Angeles, CA: 213, 310, 323, 562, 626
Louisville, KY: 502, 812
Memphis, TN: 901
Miami, FL: 305
Milwaukee, WI: 414
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: 612
Nashville, TN: 615
New York City/Newark, NJ: 201, 212, 516, 718, 732, 908,
914, 917, 973
Oakland, CA: 510, 925
Orange County, CA: 714, 949
Orlando, FL: 407
Philadelphia, PA: 215, 412, 609, 610
Phoenix, AZ: 602, 907
Pittsburgh, PA: 412
Portland, OR: 503
Providence, RI: 401
Riverside/San Bernardino, CA: 714, 909, 949
Sacramento, CA: 916
Salt Lake City, UT: 435, 801
San Antonio, TX: 210, 830
San Diego, CA: 619, 760
San Francisco, CA: 415, 650
San Jose, CA: 408, 415
Seattle/Bellevue/Everett, WA: 206, 425
Spokane, WA: 509
St. Louis, MO: 314, 573
St. Petersburg/Tampa, FL: 813
Tacoma, WA: 206, 253
Tucson, AZ: 520
Tulsa, OK: 918
Washington, D.C.: 202, 410, 757
"When you add it all up it's a pretty impressive list,"
Edwards said. "This list includes more than 100 area
codes, representing thousands -- perhaps tens of
thousands -- of individual towns and cities across the
country. I-Link will soon be able to offer the close to 125
million residents of these areas local access to
high-quality enhanced communications services
previously unavailable to them and at incredible price
points."
Founded in 1994, I-Link Inc. is an enhanced voice and
data communications company that uses Internet
protocol (IP) telephony and its own private network to
provide low-cost long-distance, conference calling,
voice mail, fax, e-mail and other communications
services. I-Link's products and services are primarily
offered through a network marketing channel. Through
wholly owned subsidiaries MiBridge Inc. and ViaNet
Technologies Ltd., I-Link develops emerging
communications technologies that are used by I-Link
and other leading communications firms worldwide.
I-Link is headquartered in Draper, Utah, and its Web site
is located at i-link.net.
The statements made in this release that are not
historical facts contain forward-looking information that
involves risks and uncertainties. Important factors that
may cause actual results to differ include, but are not
limited to, the impact of competitive products and
services, the company's ability to manage growth and
acquisitions of technology or businesses, the effect of
economic and business conditions, and other risks
detailed from time to time in the company's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE I-Link Inc.
/CONTACT: Media: Scott Corfield, 801-523-3730,
801-949-7002 (cellular), scorfield@politis.com, or Kevan
Barney, 801-523-3730, 801-949-7001 (cellular),
kbarney@politis.com, both of Politis Communications;
or Financial: Karl Ryser Jr. of I-Link Inc., 801-576-5025,
karlr@i-link.net/ /Web site: i-link.net (ILNK) |
