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BCL-iBasis
Russian Communications Provider Baltic Communications Ltd.
Selects iBasis for Expansion of International Services
Next-Gen Service Provider Connects to The iBasis NetworkTM for International VoIP; Agreement Extends The iBasis Network to Northwest Russia
BURLINGTON, MA - February 27, 2001-- iBasis, Inc., (Nasdaq: IBAS), the leader in advanced Internet-based voice communications, today announced it has signed an interconnection agreement with Baltic Communications Ltd. (BCL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Metromedia International Group, Inc., (AMEX: MMG), and the leading competitive communications service provider in Northwest Russia. Under the terms of the agreement, BCL will be able to route voice traffic from its corporate, residential and calling card customers over the iBasis NetworkTM. In addition, the agreement with BCL extends iBasis' global footprint in Northwest Russia and in St. Petersburg, the fourth largest city in Europe.
BCL is a provider of advanced voice, data connectivity and IP services to businesses, mobile professionals and service providers in Northwest Russia. BCL's clients include leading Russia-based corporate subsidiaries, as well as Russian corporations, hotels, business centers, and domestic and international service providers. BCL is also the only provider that offers credit card and smartcard payphone services to tourists and business travelers in St. Petersburg, one of the world's most visited tourist destinations.
"Russia is one of the fastest-growing destinations on our global network," said Ofer Gneezy, president and CEO of iBasis. "BCL's focus on providing high quality communication services to enterprise customers and the large tourism industry in and around St. Petersburg and Northwest Russia will help us terminate and originate even more traffic in this important region."
"In our 9 years of operation, BCL has always sought to provide the best communications solutions available," said David Whitford, General Director of BCL. "Our interconnection with iBasis, already the international VoIP provider of choice for many of the world's largest carriers, will enable us to efficiently expand our footprint and deliver on our commitment to provide high quality, reliable service."
The iBasis Network and Carrier-Class VoIP
The iBasis NetworkTM is a robust, global platform for the delivery of IP-based communications services, including wholesale, phone-to-phone VoIP and enhanced services, such as unified communications and speech-enabled business solutions. The iBasis Network delivers IP-based voice services using Internet Telephony equipment from Cisco Systems deployed in large, carrier-class switching and application hosting facilities called Internet Central OfficesTM, strategically located in Amsterdam, Cambridge (Mass.), Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto. The network also comprises numerous smaller points of presence called Internet Branch OfficesTM, which play an important role in connecting providers to iBasis services. With this global infrastructure in more than 45 countries and through its peering relationships with other communications providers, iBasis can provide IP-based voice services virtually anywhere in the world.
iBasis is the only provider that guarantees service quality by offering the industry's first Service Level Agreement (SLA) for VoIP (Voice-over-Internet-Protocol). The key to maintaining the high level of quality required by the world's largest carriers is the company's proven, proprietary Assured Quality RoutingTM (AQRTM) technology. At the company's 24 x 7 Network Operations Center (NOC), the nerve center of The iBasis Network, engineers continuously monitor the global circuit-switched (PSTN) and packet-switched (IP) networks to ensure the highest quality of service to customers worldwide.
About BCL
BCL was established in 1991 as the very first commercial telephone operator in St. Petersburg and is today wholly-owned by Metromedia International Group, Inc. (AMEX: MMG). BCL offers a full range of business communications solutions: voice, data connectivity, Internet and mobility, and is rapidly developing its credentials as a provider of NextGen applications. Besides its corporate solutions, BCL also provides services to telephony and Internet service providers and additionally operates 200 credit card and pre-paid smartcard payphones installed at the major business, tourist & transport sites in St. Petersburg and Vyborg as well as at the Russian-Finnish border. More information about BCL can be found on the Internet at www.bcltele.com .
About iBasis
Founded in 1996, iBasis (Nasdaq: IBAS) is the leader in advanced Internet-based voice communications. iBasis delivers toll quality international voice services and provides the infrastructure for hosted communications solutions, including unified communications and speech-enabled content, e-commerce and customer service applications. More than 100 international service providers, including 11 of the top 12 US-based international carriers and four of the five largest carriers in China route traffic over the iBasis Network. iBasis customers include Worldcom, Cable & Wireless, NTT, Concert, China Unicom, China Mobile and Telstra. iBasis' hosted, enhanced service solutions include VoCoreSM unified communications and the IP CallCardTM pre- and post-paid calling card platform. The iBasis Network is the world's largest international Cisco Powered Network for Internet Telephony and the first to receive the Unified Communications-Cisco Powered Network (UC-CPN) designation. iBasis is listed in both the Russell 2000® and Russell 3000® Indexes. The company can be reached at its worldwide headquarters in Burlington, Mass., USA at 781-505-7500 or on the Internet at www.ibasis.net .
Except for historical information, all of the expectations, projections and assumptions contained in the foregoing press release, including those relating to the company's current expectations regarding revenue growth, sources of revenue, margin improvement and future capital expenditures constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, (i) the extent of adoption of the company's new voice-based Internet services and the timing and amount of revenue generated by these services; (ii) fluctuations in the market for and pricing of VoIP services; and (iii) the other considerations described as "Risk Factors" in iBasis' Preliminary Prospectus dated January 16, 2001, and the company's other SEC filings.
Assured Quality Routing and AQR are registered trademarks, VoCore is a service mark and iBasis, The iBasis Network, Internet Central Office and Internet Branch Office and IP CallCard are trademarks of iBasis, Inc. Cisco and Cisco Powered Network are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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