More good news...
SBC Communications, Telmex & Network Access Solutions Partner to Provide DSL Service Nationally
SBC & Telmex to Invest Additional $150 Million for Network Expansion
SAN ANTONIO, and STERLING, Va., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Network Access Solutions (NAS) (Nasdaq: NASC), one of the nation's leading providers of broadband solutions for businesses, announced it has reached a strategic agreement with SBC Communications (NYSE: SBC) and Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex) (NYSE: TMX), a leader in telecommunications services in Latin America, to provide DSL service to business and residential customers in markets around the nation.
SBC and Telmex will invest $150 million in the form of a convertible preferred security to help fund expansion of NAS' network, subject to regulatory approval. NAS will provide DSL service for SBC out of region, thereby enabling SBC Telecom to accelerate the rollout of services associated with its national-local expansion into 30 new markets. It will also allow Telmex to extend its offering of telecommunications services outside of Mexico. The parties also intend to enter into an agreement that gives NAS the ability to sell SBC Telecom services in areas where NAS operates.
"Our agreement with SBC and Telmex redefines the U.S. DSL services market, allows us to extend our network into BellSouth and US West territories, and helps us break into other new regions throughout the U.S.," said Jon Aust, chairman and CEO of NAS. "We will deliver an unparalleled DSL platform which will enable the rapid delivery of innovative, value-added DSL services in conjunction with SBC, Telmex and partners."
"This agreement puts in place a key piece of SBC's national growth strategy," said Ron Blake, who oversees that initiative as president of SBC Telecom. "This is another step that will help us accelerate our expansion into 30 major markets, expand our customer base and enhance service to existing customers. It clearly complements our position as the nation's leading provider of DSL service."
Under SBC's Project Pronto, the company will become the nation's largest single provider of broadband services, making super-fast, always-on Internet access available through DSL service to approximately 80 percent of its customers. SBC leads the nation in consumer DSL sales with more than 169,000 subscribers.
"This partnership continues Telmex's international expansion efforts while providing SBC and Prodigy Internet(TM) with a competitive advantage like no other broadband provider in the U.S.," said Samer Salameh, chairman and CEO of Prodigy Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGY). "And with the much- anticipated growth of the high-speed Internet access market, we are uniquely positioned together to lead a quantum leap in the ISP playing field."
Telmex and SBC, current and future majority shareholders respectively of Prodigy, will extend the benefits of this deal to the Prodigy Internet(TM) DSL service. In a pending agreement announced late last year, Prodigy Internet will become SBC's exclusive ISP marketed to the 100 million consumers in the SBC territories.
Assuming full conversion of the $150 million investment, SBC and Telmex would increase their combined ownership position to approximately 12% of NAS' outstanding shares as of December 31, 1999.
Broadband technology is fundamentally changing the way the world communicates because it can cost-effectively support all types of communications without the constraint of inadequate bandwidth. The Gartner Group predicts explosive growth for the broadband services market, which it expects to double from $21.7 billion in 1999 to $41 billion in 2003.
About NAS
Network Access Solutions (NAS) is one of the nation's leading broadband solutions companies. Founded in 1995, the company provides an expansive portfolio of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and broadband networking services to businesses in the Bell Atlantic territory. NAS gives customers access to a deep network footprint, a direct sales force, and a robust broadband services "bundle" which includes network consulting, integration, management and security services.
Upon completion of NAS' DSL network build-out in the Bell Atlantic region in mid-2000, NAS will have access to 95% of businesses in the Bell Atlantic territory. This region is considered to be the most profitable telecommunications region in the country because it is home to 35% of the world's data communications traffic and the densest collection of businesses in the U.S.
In June, 1999, SBC and Telefonos de Mexico invested a combined $10 million in NAS when it raised $84 million in an Initial Public Offering.
For more information about NAS, visit the company's web site at nas-corp.com.
About SBC
SBC Communications Inc. (www.sbc.com) is a global communications leader. Through its subsidiaries -- Southwestern Bell, Ameritech, Pacific Bell, SBC Telecom, Nevada Bell, SNET and Cellular One -- and world-class network, SBC provides local and long-distance phone service, wireless and data communications, paging, high-speed Internet access and messaging, cable and satellite television, security services and telecommunications equipment, as well as directory advertising and publishing. In the United States, the company currently has 90.4 million voice grade equivalent lines, 11.2 million wireless customers and is undertaking a national expansion program that will bring SBC service to an additional 30 markets. Internationally, SBC has telecommunications investments in 23 countries. With more than 204,000 employees, SBC is the 13th largest employer in the U.S., with annual revenues that rank it among the largest Fortune 500 companies.
About Telmex
Telmex is the major telecommunications company in Mexico, and provides local telephone, domestic and international long-distance, wireless, data, and video transmission services. Since its privatization in 1990, Telmex has been one of the fastest companies to modernize, and has emerged as a leader in telecommunications services in Latin America. As part of this immense modernization and technological diversification effort, Telmex has invested more than $18.6 billion in its infrastructure over the last ten years, and plans to continue investing more than $2.9 billion during 2000.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include those described under "Risk Factors" in NAS' June 1999 IPO Prospectus, which include, among other things, (i) the Company's ability to successfully market its services to current and new customers; (ii) the extent of increasing competition; (iii) trends in regulatory, legislative and judicial developments; and (iv) the Company's ability to manage growth of its operations. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SOURCE: Network Access Solution
CONTACT: NAS Analyst: Kelli Harrington Nemer, 703-995-2181 or Investor_Relations@nas-corp.com, or NAS Media: Debra Arrington, 703-481-7529 or darrington@nas-corp.com, both of Network Access Solutions; or SBC: Selim Bingol of SBC Communications, 210-351-3991 or bingols@corp.sbc.com; or Telmex: Alejandro Martinez, 011-525-703-3990
siliconinvestor.com |
