LOS ANGELES, Dec. 7, 1998 (PRIMEZONE) --- U.S. TelePacific Corporation (TelePacific) announced today that it has launched its "next generation" local telecommunications services to businesses and organizations in California and Nevada-competing head-to-head with giants Pacific Bell and GTE. The Company has received a license from the Public Utilities Commission to operate as a competitive local exchange carrier and has activated its first switch located in downtown Los Angeles. TelePacific will now begin providing state-of-the-art, customized telecommunications services to its corporate and academia customers. TelePacific has pre-sold 60,000 subscriber lines to Los Angeles businesses and high-profile universities.
"Next generation" services are the result of the Company's "smart build" network in which TelePacific will own and control high-quality Lucent switches that will be strategically deployed in urban areas, beginning with Los Angeles and expanding to San Francisco and other major cities in California and Nevada. These switches are combined with leased fiber-optic capacity to give the Company flexibility and reliability in its network without the substantial up-front capital investment required in building a fiber-optic network.
David Glickman, chairman and chief executive officer of TelePacific said, "Businesses are ready for simplified, integrated telecommunication services-to meet their growing needs for local and long distance voice, data, Internet and multi-media applications. They are demanding a tailored network design geared to the unique requirements of their business and deserve an alternative to the limited services and support provided by the few existing local carriers."
The expanded commercial services of TelePacific include:
* Delivery of multiple phone numbers and phone lines for businesses * Free local phone calls * Five-cents-a-minute calls within California * Seven-cents-a-minute long-distance phone calls in the U.S. * Ten-cents-a-minute calls to Europe * High-speed Internet connections (ISDN or alternatives) at dial-up prices * Free caller identification * Free Centrex, including call transfer, call waiting and three-way calling * Service representatives available on-site within four hours * Live customer service representatives who will answer your call in 60 seconds.
The Company stated that its current customers include well-known Los Angeles businesses including hotels and corporate call centers as well as local universities which complained they were previously underserved and overcharged by their local carriers. The Company is also targeting small-to-mid-sized businesses that are not receiving the attention they deserve. "TelePacific provides the support of knowledgeable customer representatives to stand behind our services," stated Ira Morris, president and chief operating officer of TelePacific. "This access to qualified support and individualized services was unheard of in years past. TelePacific intends to change the way businesses view their local carrier," he added.
TelePacific believes that its competitive edge is enhanced by its entrepreneurial style which contrasts to its recently deregulated competitors. Glickman founded Justice Technology, a highly entrepreneurial telecommunications company based in Los Angeles, which was named by Inc. Magazine as the "fastest growing private company in the U.S." in the publication's latest 1998 survey. "We have assembled a team of entrepreneurial telecommunications experts at TelePacific that believe in listening to the customer and taking an innovative approach to providing service. Our customers are thrilled with the personalized attention and their ability to cut costs and simplify their communications needs by switching to TelePacific," added Glickman.
The idea for TelePacific arose out of Mr. Glickman's frustration with the poor service Justice Technology received from monopolistic local carriers. "When the Telecommunications Deregulation Act of 1996 was passed I knew there was a real opportunity to improve the service offered to business customers. GTE and Pacific Bell, headquartered outside of California, were clearly out-of-touch with the needs of Los Angeles businesses. TelePacific fills this void," concluded Glickman.
TelePacific is the only Los Angeles, California-based local exchange carrier providing "next generation" integrated telecommunications services. The Company integrates the local and long distance voice, data, Internet and multimedia needs of its corporate and university clients in California. Established to provide better customer support and more personalized network design than available from other carriers, U.S. TelePacific's "smart build" network is setting the new standard in local carrier services.