FRANKFURT, Germany and LONDON, Nov. 8, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Carrier1 (Neuer Markt:CJN) (Nasdaq:CONE), one of Europe's top suppliers of large-scale, end-to-end voice, data and Internet services, and Sapphire Multimedia Ltd., a leading provider of entertainment content in Europe, today announced a two year agreement with a contract value in excess of one million US dollars under which Carrier1 will provide Virtual Internet Services (VISP) to Sapphire Multimedia LTD. This is the first VISP of its kind to be successfully launched in Europe.
Under the terms of the agreement, Carrier1 will provide Internet connectivity and access for Sapphire's customers to strengthen their position in the entertainment marketplace. The service will be launched in December and will initially be for the UK.
"We believe this is the first VISP launch of its kind in Europe using a Tier1 carrier. This contract is a significant step forward for Carrier1 in the media industry," said Gavin Richardson, UK Managing Director of Carrier1. "We are delighted Sapphire have chosen Carrier1 as a partner to drive their business forward. It reinforces Carrier1's position as a leading communication solutions provider and will leverage Sapphire's existing strong position in their market."
"From the beginning, there has been tremendous support from Carrier1," said Phil Evans, IT Director of Sapphire Multimedia Ltd. "They've shared our enthusiasm and brought a wealth of business and technical expertise to the table. We're already beginning to consider other projects with Carrier1 such as video streaming, m-commerce and ADSL. We think this is a huge market, and we think we've found the right partner to grow it."
About Sapphire Multi Media Ltd.
Sapphire Multi Media Ltd. was formed in early 2001 with a broad mission to provide quality products and services to the market through all platforms. The company will, in 2002, launch a mid shelf lifestyle magazine title together with a satellite TV presence. The company believes that a number of existing competitors in these markets do not offer a high level of quality and customer service. Sapphire intends to re draw the map on production quality, creative content and customer service. In doing so they intend to dominate these markets and to take market share from the existing key players. Sapphire's latest plans are to diversify into mainstream content as well popular music thus creating a global all round media operation.
About Carrier1
Carrier1 International S.A. is one of Europe's top providers of large system solutions for end-to-end Internet, broadband, voice, data-center and dialup access communications to large users of telecommunications services with a network that spans 14,000 contracted route kilometers in 13 countries, and links 35 European cities. Carrier1 provides its clients with carrier-grade transport and network solutions as well as end-user-ready, value-added services that customers then brand and market to their respective users.
For more information, please visit the Carrier1 website at www.carrier1.com
References to website addresses contained herein are not intended to create an active link or to incorporate such websites by reference into this document.
Forward Looking Statement:
The information contained in this press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "plans," "estimates," "may," "will," "should" or "anticipates" or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.
These statements include those regarding (i) the term of the agreement, (ii) timing of the launch of the service, (iii)) the possibility of Sapphire Multimedia doing other projects with Carrier1.
These statements are based on the current expectations of the management of Carrier1 and performance is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. Such risks include but are not limited to, the deterioration of the market economy, including in Europe and the technology and telecommunications segments, the deterioration of the financial strength of our customer base, adverse regulatory, technological, judicial or competitive developments; decline in Carrier'1 services or products; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and services; pressure on pricing resulting from competition; unforeseen construction delays and failure to receive on a timely basis necessary permits or other governmental approvals, failure to obtain any necessary financing if management's business plan assumptions are not met, performance failure by third parties with whom Carrier1 has contracted including for the supply or maintenance of infrastructure components and by joint venture partners; the risk of termination of certain joint ventures through which Carrier1 operates; the amount of indebtedness incurred by Carrier1 and its obligations thereunder. For a more detailed discussion of these risks, uncertainties and other factors affecting the Company, please refer to the Company's prospectus and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, including its 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2000 and its 10-Qs for the quarter ended 31 March 2001 and 30 June 2001. Corresponding filings are available at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.