OTCBB FTEL
For Immediate Release
December 3, 1996
Franklin Acquires Number One Internet
Westlake Village, CA.> Franklin Telecom announced today that it has acquired Number
One Internet Service, subject to approval by each company's Board of Directors.
Number One Internet, based in Simi, California, will operate as part of FNet, which is
Franklin's Internet subsidiary, and will specialize in providing high speed Wireless,
Frame Relay and ATM Internet service to business customers.
According to Franklin's president and CEO Frank Peters, "We have been impressed
with Number One's marketing savvy. They have demonstrated a remarkable knack for
identifying a particular niche in the industrial community and moving to fill it. Their
immediate focus will be on marketing our High Speed Wireless Internet Service and
High Speed Frame Relay applications to business and industry throughout the western
United States. We will relocate Number 1's facility and equipment to our Westlake
Village headquarters. "
Franklin's Sales Manager Alan London adds, "We are at the stage where many
companies and professionals who were among the first to recognize the strategic
importance of the Internet and to plunge into its usage need more sophisticated
applications and higher speed access. For many of them, Wireless or Frame Relay is
the next logical step. We feel that Number One Internet has the marketing presence
coupled with the technical know-how to make this transition simple and efficient for
them."
According to Terry Lee, Number One's co-founder, "Franklin is in a position to take the
wholesale and retail Frame Relay and Wireless servicing in the direction we have been
aiming for. This merger facilitates getting affordable high-speed Internet and Intranet
data exchange to many new market area with professionalism and expertise unmatched
in the industry."
This is a good marriage," says Steve Sullivan, Number One's co-founder, we are
excited about the high quality products that Franklin manufactures and they fit like a
glove with the market that Number 1 has been targeting. We are very excited about the
Wireless products which cut the cost of high capacity frame relay by a third. That along
with what Franklin has on the drawing board has us very enthusiastic."
More information can be obtained by contacting Helen West, Shareholder Relations, at 805-373-8688.
Franklin Telecom, founded in 1981, designs and manufactures communications devices and software.
Franklin has an installed base of over 100,000 nodes. Franklin is traded on the Over The Counter Market
as "FTEL". |
