This press release has reference to ASND.
Tuesday March 17, 10:37 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Rocky Mountain Internet Signs Agreements to Become a National ISP
Deals with PSINet, PacNET Allow Colorado ISP to Offer Nationwide Communications, Internet
Services
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 1998-- Rocky Mountain Internet, Inc. (NASDAQ: RMIIU - news, RMII -
news, RMIIW - news) today announced it has signed two agreements that expand the company's Internet access capabilities
nationally.
An agreement between RMI and PSINet, the first commercial Internet Service Provider, gives RMI the ability to deliver
dial-up services to customers in PSINet's 235 Points-Of-Presence (POPs) around the country and in 400 worldwide. A
separate agreement with PacNET, a Seattle-based telecommunications provider, has made it possible for RMI to offer
private Wide Area Network (WAN) services to businesses anywhere in the United States.
''With these agreements and our newly launched national IP telephony service, Rocky Mountain Internet is no longer a
Colorado-only Internet Service Provider,'' said Doug Hanson, president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Internet. ''Through
PSINet's existing infrastructure in 235 cities and PacNET's ability to supply dedicated network connections, we can now offer
full-service network solutions to any business, anywhere. This clearly is a giant leap for us and will allow us to compete with
Earthlink, Mindspring and all other national providers. We are looking forward to a great relationship with the people at
PSINet and PacNet.''
RMI's arrangement with PSINet will allow businesses with multiple locations to provide their remote offices with dial-up
access to a company Intranet or high-speed Internet connection. RMI will sell its Unlimited access dial-up service plan to
customers in national markets for $19.95 a month.
RMI's agreement with PSINet will also enable them to enter any of the 235 cities to offer dial-up services. Typically, building
an infrastructure in a new market can be a barrier for ISPs like RMI in launching service. However, this contract enables RMI
to build a customer base and revenue without the expense of building its own network there. The company has not committed
to any additional US cities for service to date, but is investigating opportunities.
''Customers who use RMI's services outside the state will have access to the same excellent customer service that our
Colorado customers have become accustomed to,'' said Hanson.
At the same time, the company's agreement with PacNET will allow RMI to provide business customers with private Wide
Area Networks (WANs), which companies can use to transmit data to and from multiple locations over a worldwide network
called UniSPAN, which consists of an additional 190 POPs.
''Through our arrangement with PacNet, we are now fully able to handle customer locations throughout the country and to
structure the optimum network solution for them, using dedicated solutions, dial-up, security, web hosting or even web site
production,'' said Hanson. ''Although the service will be offered initially to Colorado businesses, we expect to expand to the
national market very soon.''
Among the key benefits to RMI in gaining access to UniSPAN's network are the large number of service points available,
distributed switches, a short local loop backhaul, diverse routing between switches, inter-network transport of polled
protocols, and full management across the network for each connection.
Private WANs have become a popular network configuration among multi-location companies because they offer guaranteed
bandwidth over a private network, single provider connectivity, lower start-up costs and monthly charges, and greater security
than previous solutions.
About PSINet
PSINet is a leading provider of turn-key corporate Internet and intranet access, managed security services, electronic
commerce solutions and Web hosting services throughout the United States and abroad. PSINet manages one of the world's
largest and most advanced fast-packet networks, which provides state-of-the-art, high speed Internet access ranging from
dedicated high-speed circuits to ISDN to high-speed modem dial-up. PSINet backs up its state-of-the-art network with the
industry's original service guarantee, employing automatic back-up systems and crediting service for outages. Headquartered
in Herndon, Va., PSINet has offices throughout the U.S. and subsidiaries in Canada, Japan and Europe, including Belgium,
Germany and the U.K. For more information contact PSINet by phone at 703-904-4100, by e-mail at info@psi.com or by
accessing their Web site at psi.net.
About PacNet Inc.
PacNet (http://www.onesource.net/) is a Seattle-based telecommunications company started in 1987 and one of six members
of the UniSPAN consortium PacNet was founded in 1983 as a data transmission service for Northwest Pipeline. Over the
years, PacNet has emerged as one of the premier data communications providers, providing coverage coast to coast and
abroad. This Worldwide Coverage is made possible through PacNet's impressive network of frame relay switches. As one of
the founding companies of the UniSPAN Consortium, PacNet was the first to deploy the Network to Network Interface
(NNI). The interconnectivity PacNet has created through the UniSPAN Consortium has helped rank PacNet among the best
of the best.
About Rocky Mountain Internet
Rocky Mountain Internet (http://www.rmi.net) is a full-service, national communications company providing local telephone
service and IP Telephony long distance service under the name Rocky Mountain Broadband, as well as Internet access, Web
development and hosting, network management, system integration and co-location services to clients throughout the United
States. The company's frame relay backbone is the only Colorado-based network utilizing the industry-leading Cascade
switching technology, with broadband B-STDX 9000 switches strategically placed throughout Denver, Boulder and Colorado
Springs to provide full network redundancy. |
