Chairman's AGM Statement
August 30 2000 - 8:19AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:1388Q
Atlantic Telecom Group PLC
30 August 2000
ATLANTIC TELECOM GROUP PLC
AGM Statement 30 August 2000
At the Annual General Meeting of Atlantic Telecom Group PLC
('Atlantic' or 'the Company') held today, the Executive
Chairman, Graham J Duncan, made the following statement:
On 8 June 2000, Atlantic completed the acquisition of First
Telecom Group PLC, the integration of which is now
substantially complete. The Company now has in place an
experienced combined management team to successfully develop
the significant opportunities that lie ahead.
As a result of detailed research on the two brands, the
Company has concluded that the branding of the Group going
forward will be based on the continued establishment of the
Atlantic brand and its variants in our chosen markets. The
first:telecom brand will therefore be progressively removed
from the market.
Atlantic also announced in June that it was refocusing the
network build to 'fast-track' services to small and medium
sized business customers (SMEs), and to capitalise on its
technology platforms to achieve first mover advantages in
this important market. This decision was based on the desire
to focus capital where it will produce the best return and
will allow the Company to develop a much wider platform for
its SME services across the UK, Germany and France.
The objective remains to position Atlantic as a premier
provider of services to the SME market, with a focus on
customers that require high speed data capability and up to
30 voice lines, an area of the market that receives little
focused attention from other operators.
We will continue to address the residential market with
direct connections where we have built, or are building,
relevant network and elsewhere indirectly, by using the
local networks of the incumbent operators.
In Germany we launched wholesale high-speed data services in
June using SDSL* technologies. Our retail services to the
SME market, using the same technology, will be launched on
1st September, and we have already pre-sold our first SME
lines in Frankfurt. We have over 600 co-locations accepted
by Deutsche Telecom and expect to have 75 co-locations
operational by the end of this quarter. We also expect to be
operational in Munich by 30th September.
In the United Kingdom, we fully expect to activate our SME
based network using wireless in the 'last mile'. This will
take place before BT's network has been materially
'unbundled'.
In July we launched services in Manchester, and the initial
level of interest in our services has been very encouraging.
We are in the process of building the network and have
developed our plans to concentrate our wireless base
stations on areas with the greatest concentration of SMEs.
As each new base station is built, it is also being
activated with wireless high-speed service capability,
capable of delivering broadband services
Atlantic's plans are now focused on a potential addressable
market of over 3 million SMEs across the three countries.
This very targeted approach greatly reduces the capital
needs of the Company going forward whilst retaining a
significant market opportunity. As a result of the two major
funding exercises at the end of 1999 and the beginning of
2000, Atlantic has substantial cash resources available to
implement its plans although it will, as always, remain
opportunistic in the capital markets.
*SDSL - Synchronous Digital Subscriber Line technology
For further information, please contact:
Graham J Duncan, Executive Chairman
01224 454000
Susy Atkinson, Corporate Affairs Manager
07808 397374
Patrick Toyne Sewell, Citigate Dewe Rogerson
020 7638 9571
Sara Thomas, Citigate Dewe Rogerson
020 7638 9571
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