Back to press releasesNEWARK, NJ – November 11, 2002 – Winstar, a subsidiary of IDT Corp. (NYSE: IDT.B, IDT), is pleased to announce that it has received approval from the General Services Administration’s Federal Technology Service to novate or assume twelve of its Metropolitan Area Acquisition (MAA) contracts. The novation agreement is a legal instrument that allows Winstar to be substituted in place of old Winstar Communications, Inc. in its contracts with the General Services Administration (GSA). The process of novation is used by the Federal Government to recognize a successor in interest to a Federal contract and represents the Government’s approval of the new company to fulfill these contracts.
“GSA’s approval of Winstar’s novation agreements is a landmark development for IDT and Winstar and is a resounding approval of the company’s superior fixed wireless technology,” said Jim Courter, CEO of IDT Corporation. “This is good for both Winstar and the Federal Government. It will generate significant revenue for Winstar and give government agencies access to high-quality, cost-effective and reliable telecommunication services that will enable the government to better serve all citizens.”
Since being acquired by IDT, a multinational carrier and telephone company, Winstar has been working diligently to novate these twelve Federal MAA contracts with the GSA. The old Winstar Communications originally received the MAA contracts during 2000-2001. Winstar’s fixed wireless technology has been deployed across the United States, providing broadband services to over 50,000 government telephone numbers. Winstar’s installed base of MAA services ranges from basic local dial tone to high-speed data services.
“IDT is a company known for technological innovation and these twelve MAA contracts will give Winstar the opportunity to supply the government with the finest fixed wireless technologies and services available,” said Brian Finklestein, CEO of Winstar. “This will ensure that government users, such as federal agencies, federal contractors and certain federally supported universities and laboratories can benefit from Winstar’s current suite of services as well as new technology enhancements as they become available.”
Winstar represents a high value and high quality alternative for Federal Agencies who desire broadband services whether for local dial tone, critical network infrastructure diversity solutions, redundant building access solutions, or an array of campus and metropolitan area broadband Homeland Security initiatives.
The GSA has previously relied on Winstar to provide emergency services to several government facilities for disaster recovery networking after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and continues to use Winstar to support selected agencies’ needs for business continuity networking outside of these MAA contracts.
Winstar, an IDT Company, is the reliable choice for local and long distance voice, data, high-speed Internet, and business continuity-standby networking services for business needs. Winstar’s unmatched facilities-based network utilizes fixed broadband wireless technology to deliver highly reliable, affordable services as your primary or supplemental choice to the Regional Bell Operating (RBOC) monopolies in 22 U.S. markets. Excellent customer support, superior network reliability, and the financial stability of IDT make Winstar the smart choice for your telecommunications services.
Contact: 877-WIN-4GSA (877-946-4472) or www.winstar.com
IDT Corporation through its IDT Telecom subsidiary is a facilities-based, multinational carrier that provides a broad range of telecommunications services to its retail and wholesale customers worldwide. Through its own national telecommunications backbone and fiber optic network infrastructure, IDT Telecom provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance telephony and prepaid calling cards. IDT and Liberty Media own 95% and 5 % of IDT Telecom, respectively. IDT Media is the IDT subsidiary principally responsible for the Company’s initiatives in media, new video technologies and print media.
Through its various subsidiaries, IDT has interests in several telecom, Internet-related and media companies. IDT acquired Winstar Communications in December, 2001. IDT Corporation common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols IDT.B and IDT. As of October 18, 2002, there were about 54.1 million shares of Class B common stock (IDT.B) outstanding, and about 25.0 million shares of common stock (IDT). Of these, approximately 4.0 million shares of Class B common stock and approximately 5.4 million shares of common stock were held by units of IDT Corporation.
Except for historical information, all of the expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, involving risks and uncertainties. These statements refer to our plans to implement our growth strategy, improve our financial performance, expand our infrastructure, develop new products and services, expand our customer base and enter international markets. The forward looking statements also include our expectations concerning factors affecting the markets for our products, including the demand for long distance telecommunications, and Internet access services. These forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results that we anticipate. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risks discussed in this release. In addition to the factors specifically noted in the forward looking statements, other important factors that could result in those differences include (a) general economic conditions in the telecommunications and Internet markets, including inflation, recession, interest rates, and other economic factors; (b) casualty to or other disruption of our facilities and operations; (c) those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10K for the period ended July 31, 2001 and (d) other factors that generally affect the business of telecommunications, Internet and other communications companies. We assume no obligation to update these forward looking statements or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward looking statements.
