To: Secret_Agent_Man who wrote (22821 ) 12/9/1997 10:01:00 AM From: Cindy Cannon Respond to
(PR NEWSWIRE) DJ: Franklin Receives Additional $2 Million From A New Insti
DJ: Franklin Receives Additional $2 Million From A New Institutional Investor
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1997-- Franklin Telecom
(OTCBB:FTEL) Tuesday announced that an additional institutional investor has
acquired convertible preferred shares of FTEL for $2 million.
This is in addition to the similar $5 million private placement which took
place in October.
Funds will be used for production, deployment and development of additional
features for the Tempest, Franklin's newly developed Data/Voice Gateway,
including the roll-out of the previously announced FNet global network.
The FNet.Phone network, utilizing IP and the Internet, will connect the
Data/Voice Gateways, ensuring quality of service and reliability. FNet,
Franklin's Internet subsidiary, will operate the network.
Franklin's president and chief executive officer Frank Peters said, "We now
have Tempest DVGs deployed in five cities in the U.S. and Canada. This test
network is delivering consistently strong voice quality in daily usage.
"With all systems 'Go' it is great to have the financing in hand to continue
our national roll-out and to lay the groundwork for the overseas deployment
we will begin during 1998."
The Franklin Tempest Data/Voice Gateway allows phone-to-phone service over
the Internet or Frame Relay using ordinary telephones (no computer required)
and without requiring any special hardware or software at either connection.
The Tempest facilitates long-distance telephone calls at greatly reduced
cost compared with conventional telephone service providers. The installed
network will be utilized by existing clients as well as FNet customers.
Hardware sales of the Tempest Data/Voice Gateway have many applications,
including usage by multinational corporations with hundreds of offices
scattered around the world. These companies are able to bypass long
distance charges by dropping Tempest units into their existing data
networks.
This allows them to piggyback their calls over the existing networks for
free. Payback for a typical installation of this type, based on an average
of five hours of calls utilizing the network per office per day, would be
well under a year.
For the latest up-to-the-minute information on Franklin Telecom, visit the
company Web site, ftel.com .
NOTE: The primary business of Franklin Telecom, founded
in 1981, is the design and manufacturing of communications devices,
high speed LAN, WAN, Telco & Satellite Systems and software.
Franklin has an installed base of more than 100,000 nodes worldwide.
Franklin's Internet subsidiaries, FNet and Internet Passport
provide services using FTEL products.
Certain statements in this news release constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause
the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to
be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements, expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements.
CONTACT: Franklin Telecom, Westlake Village
Helen West, 805/373-8688
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