Frontier and IDT Ink $52 Million, Long-Term Capacity Deal
Frontier Corporation (NYSE:FRO) and IDT (NASDAQ:IDTC) jointly announced today Frontier will supply IDT with nationwide network capacity, in a $52 million long-term bandwidth and maintenance deal.
The agreement gives IDT additional network facilities that will enable it to
rapidly expand the range and reliability of its IP and voice services, as well
as lower its existing network costs.
IDT preferred to partner with Frontier, an integrated data and voice
communications company, as opposed to a purely fiber company, due to the
significant cost benefits, including interconnects and fiber routing
management. The agreement provides for an OC-3 backbone with DS3s to
other major cities. IDT will now be able to offer broader band IP telephony,
national long distance and 10xxx services, reduce 800-origination costs, and
provide originating and terminating carrier traffic in all major cities.
"Through this relationship with Frontier, we expect to route more calls on
our network and cut our costs substantially," said Howard Jonas, IDT's
Chairman and CEO. "Since IDT has become a facilities-based carrier, we
have reduced overall costs significantly, and have migrated much of our
traffic on our own network, which is much more cost-effective than utilizing
a leased network. We look forward to a prosperous relationship with
Frontier, where we can better utilize each other's facilities, strengths and key
relationships in future agreements."
"The Frontier Optronics Network provides our customers the most
flexible and scalable data network in the industry," added Frontier CEO Joe
Clayton. "Because we view all network-based communications as data, we
are able to offer our customers a national fiber infrastructure designed for
today's communications needs and tomorrow's more complex network
applications. This agreement reinforces that the Frontier Optronics Network
will drive Frontier into the future, as we continue to partner with full-service
telecommunications companies such as IDT."
Connecting more than 120 metropolitan areas around the nation, the
Frontier Optronics Network uses the most advanced fiber optics with
DWDM. This future-proof design creates "liquid bandwidth," scalable
architecture giving the network virtually unlimited capacity. Upon
completion, the entire Optronics network will exceed a capacity of 460
Gbps. Such capacity can service any or multiple applications customers may
deploy to support their business goals, now and well into the future.
"There's more to a network than just fiber in the ground," said Jonas. "We
are very impressed with the Optronics Network that Frontier has today, and
how they are designing it with its customers' future growth opportunities in
mind. Combined with the flexibility of the company's management team,
Frontier is a perfect partner for our expanding company."
Frontier Corporation is one of the leading providers of integrated
communications services -- including Internet, IP and data applications, long
distance, local telephone and wireless -- to business customers nationwide.
The self-healing Frontier Optronics Network(SM) provides customers with
faster transmission speeds, greater bandwidth capacity and unrivaled
reliability.
For more information, visit the Frontier Optronics Network web site at
optronics.net and the Frontier web site at
frontiercorp.com.
IDT is a leading emerging multinational carrier that combines its position
as an international telecommunications operator, its experience as an Internet
service provider and its leading position in Internet telephony to provide a
broad range of telecommunications services to its wholesale and retail
customers worldwide. The company provides its customers with integrated
and competitively priced international and domestic long distance, pre-paid
calling cards, Internet access and, through its Net2Phone product offerings,
Internet telephony services including Net2Phone Direct, Net2Fax, and
Click2Talk. For more information about IDT's Internet telephony services,
please visit www.net2phone.com.
Except for historical information, all of the expectations and assumptions
contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements involving risks
and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from such forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited
to, the competitive environment for Internet telephony, changes of rates of all
related telco rates and services, legislation that may affect the Internet
telephony industry, IDT's ability to operate the services described on a large
scale commercial level. For additional information regarding these and other
risks associated with the company's business refer to the company's reports
filed with the SEC.
You can receive a faxed copy of any Frontier Corporation press release
dating back to September 1997, free of charge, 24 hours a day. Call
1-800-448-8533. An automated system will provide you with instructions. |
