Agreements With Anchorage-Based LanSat Communication and Hoonah Net Mark
Intellicom's Push Into the State of Alaska
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- SoftNet Systems Inc.
(AMEX:SOF) announced today that Intellicom has signed agreements with
Anchorage-based LanSat Communication and Hoonah Net, two Alaskan Internet
Service Providers (ISPs), to provide two-way, high-speed Internet access via
satellite.
SoftNet Systems in November announced it reached a definitive agreement to
acquire Intellicom. The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of
1999.
Intellicom said LanSat Communication has already initiated service in its
Anchorage bowl service area. In addition, LanSat Communication will become a
reseller of Intellicom's service to other Alaskan ISPs.
The agreement with Hoonah Net, calls for the ISP to begin service on the
island of Hoonah in early February. Subsequent installations are planned for
the communities of Wrangell, Cordova, Ketchikan and Sitka.
Christine Raines, president of Intellicom, said Internet service in Alaska
is currently constrained by lack of telecommunications capacity, resulting in
congestion and high costs. "Alaska represents a vast opportunity for
Intellicom. In concert with LanSat, Intellicom will be able to offer service
to 90% of the 700,000 residents of Alaska. These agreements are our first
entry into the Alaskan market. Because our satellite-based technology enables
us to provide reliable and cost-efficient service in rural areas with service
difficulties, we are making a major push to help businesses and individuals in
Alaska to get first-rate service at a reasonable cost," she said.
LanSat Communication's President Randy Hall said currently it can take as
much as six months to get telephone-line based high-speed internet service.
Intellicom and LanSat Communication estimate they can provide service in 30 to
40 days. Basic broadband service using traditional telephone lines costs from
$4,000 to $15,000 a month, according to Hall. Using Intellicom technology, he
says, "we believe we can offer more service at a lower cost at each pricepoint."
Dr. Lawrence Brilliant, SoftNet Systems president and chief executive
officer, said, "These landmark agreements demonstrate how the acquisition of
Intellicom's satellite-based Internet access capability expands SoftNet's
opportunities. The Intellicom advantage puts SoftNet on a fast-track to bring
high speed two-way Internet service to Alaska and other under-served markets
as well. These agreements represent an important step forward in achieving
SoftNet's strategic objective to serve secondary markets with cost-effective,
high-speed Internet access either indirectly via Intellicom's satellite
technology or directly through SoftNet's ISP Channel broadband Internet
service provided in conjunction with affiliated cable companies."
LanSat Communication currently offers Internet service to large and small
businesses, state and local government and schools in the Anchorage area,
LanSat Communication's Hall said. "Nobody else could provide us equivalent
service at such a good price. We now have a competitive leg up because we can
offer better service at a lower price. With this service, we can remove the
bottlenecks our customers currently confront and we can offer them more
capacity at a reduced rate."
LanSat Communication is in the process of expanding its operations
throughout Alaska. It will resell Intellicom's services as well as satellite
dishes to schools and other organizations across the state, Hall said.
Intellicom, the former Xerox Skyway Network, has been providing two-way
satellite Internet access using a proprietary VSAT (Very Small Aperture
Terminal) technology and hardware manufactured by Intellicom since 1995. Its
clients are located in rural markets as well as educational institutions,
Internet Services Providers (ISP) and businesses. Headquartered in Fremont,
California, Intellicom is uniquely positioned to provide alternative,
cost-effective wireless Internet services and capabilities to the rapidly
growing Internet/Intranet customer networks. Intellicom's vision is to be the
leading rural and urban provider of complete communications solutions using
satellite and Internet-related technologies to individuals, businesses,
educational institutions and professionals.
SoftNet Systems, based in Mountain View, California, is a low-cost,
high-speed broadband Internet services company operating through two
divisions: the ISP Channel and Intellicom, a recently acquired Internet
satellite company. SoftNet's ISP Channel partners with cable operators and
provides, installs and operates high-speed Internet access and web-based
content over existing cable infrastructure via cable modems. The ISP Channel
also offers E-commerce, information, entertainment web pages called ISP
Channel LOCALE, which is built around local bookstores, libraries, schools and
communities in each ISP Channel affiliate cable operator's community.
Internet access to these communities, cable operators and other ISPs is
augmented through VSAT satellite links to the Company's network operations
center via Intellicom's products, including T1 Plus, which replaces
terrestrial telecommunications data lines with less expensive two-way VSAT
services. ISP Channel competes with other providers of high-speed Internet
access via cable such as @Home (NASDAQ:ATHM), and Time Warner's (NYSE:TWX)
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