RENO, Nev., Sept. 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- ICM Telecommunications, Inc. (Pink Sheets:ICMH) today announced that it has entered into a revenue sharing strategic alliance with NTELX, an international network provider to the telecom industry. As part of the agreement, ICM will invest $200,000 in the privately held company for network expansion into international markets. To enable this expansion, ICM is purchasing a carrier class switch originally acquired by NTELX to route traffic between the U.S. and international markets.
In commenting on its decision to invest in the Canton, Ohio-based company, ICM President and CEO Doug Hamby said, "Most telecommunication companies are focusing on in-country VoIP deployment strategies. By contrast, the NTELX business model emphasizes the growth of communications in international markets, where VoIP technology will help propel a worldwide boom in the next 10 years."
Hamby noted that NTELX has done a good job of executing on its strategy to seek out customers that require at least 25 million minutes per month, on primary high volume routes such as from the U.S. to India.
"In addition," Hamby said, "NTELX has a corporate strategy designed to eliminate the credit risk from the equation for all customers. By operating on a monthly prepaid basis, each customer posts a standard bank instrument, such as a Letter of Credit, to insure payment to the provider."
Hamby noted that NTELX currently has several customers accounting for 80 million minutes of usage monthly. It expects to close on other companies in the next six months to exceed more than 100 million minutes per month on the prepaid format. He said all contracts are for a 12-month period. Under the current pricing model, NTELX anticipates annualized gross revenue amounting to more than $50 million.
Randall Goulding, Managing Director of The Nutmeg Group, L.L.C., a Northbrook, Illinois-based investment banking firm that is backing the venture, said, "We are pleased to be funding this strategic alliance, The Nutmeg Group's goal is to fund strategic relationships that aid portfolio companies in achieving milestone events. This is another example of our working with ICM Telecommunications in support of that strategy."
NTELX has grown as an international network provider to the telecom industry; buying network capacity from tier one carriers, at volume pricing and reselling that volume to customers including other carries, by building network hubs, customers can access a range of backbone providers. This investment in software and switching technology allows the company to take advantage of the low pricing many backbone providers are offering on a volume pricing level. It connects customers through its soft-switch platform, using its least-cost routing software tool to minimize the cost of each call carried. More information is available at www.ntelx.com .
Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, may be considered "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Unknown risk, uncertainties as well as other uncontrollable or unknown factors could cause actual results to materially differ from the results, performance, or expectations expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.