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Rostelecom_FINAL
Rostelecom Interconnects with iBasis for International Telecom Services
Leading Carrier in Russia Expands iBasis Presence
BURLINGTON, MASS. - May 14, 2003 - iBasis, Inc. (OTCBB: IBAS), the leader in Internet-based voice communications, today announced that Rostelecom (NYSE: ROS; RTS: RTKM), Russia's national long-distance telecommunications operator, is interconnecting with The iBasis NetworkTM for international telecommunications services. By interconnecting with iBasis Rostelecom will be able to route international voice traffic over The iBasis Network, the world's largest Cisco Powered Network for Internet telephony, as well as complete calls for iBasis over Rostelecom's extensive network throughout Russia.
Rostelecom joins the more than 170 carriers worldwide who have formed partnerships with iBasis. By providing Tier One quality international service to these carriers, iBasis has become one of the world's 10 largest carriers of international traffic1 and has been ranked by global service providers as the world's best international wholesale carrier for two consecutive years2.
According to TeleGeography 2003, Rostelecom was the 27th largest international carrier based on the volume of international telephone traffic outbound from Russia to other countries. Rostelecom's traffic grew 14.6% from approximately 930 million minutes in 2000 to 1.1 billion minutes in 2001.
Through its interconnection with Rostelecom, iBasis carries a portion of this traffic over the iBasis Network. In addition, iBasis sends traffic from its global network to Rostelecom for completion in Russia.
About Rostelecom
Rostelecom Public Corporation (www.rt.ru) is a major Russian telecommunication enterprise, the nationwide operator of international and long-distance telecommunications, and a leader in the related services market. The Company's license, issued by the Russian Federation Ministry of Telecommunications and IT, encompasses a centralized running of the primary backbone network, international and long-distance secondary networks and data transfer between networks throughout the country. Rostelecom Corporation operates the data and telecommunications networks throughout the Russian Federation. The network backbone comprises more than 200,000 km of primarily digital communication lines. The Company provides most of the long-distance and international communications traffic, as well as the ground network operation for television and radio channels. Rostelecom also ensures Russia's communication with 211 countries worldwide.
About iBasis
Founded in 1996, iBasis (OTCBB: IBAS) is a leading provider of wholesale international telecommunications services. Named by service providers in each of the last two years as the #1 international wholesale carrier in Atlantic-ACM's annual International Wholesale Carrier Report Card, iBasis is a preferred provider for many of the largest carriers in the world. Customers include AT&T, Cable & Wireless, China Mobile, China Unicom, Sprint, Telefonica, Telenor, Telstra, and WorldCom. The company's global VoIP infrastructure, The iBasis NetworkTM, is the world's largest international Cisco Powered NetworkTM for Internet Telephony. Based on its revenue growth from 1997 through 2001, iBasis was ranked the #8 fastest-growing technology company in North America and the #1 fastest-growing technology company in New England in the Technology Fast 500 national program sponsored by Deloitte & Touche. The company can be reached at its worldwide headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA at 781-505-7500 or on the Internet at www.ibasis.com.
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Assured Quality Routing and iBasis are registered marks, The iBasis Network, Internet Central Office, Internet Branch Office, ConnectPoint Global Access, 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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