TORONTO, January 31, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Orbit E-Commerce, Inc. ("the Company") (OTCBB:OECI) today announced it has signed a three year renewable Sales and Marketing Agreement with TeleWrx, Inc. ("TWI"), with the goal of signing in excess of 1 million subscribers in Canada and the United States.
Under the terms of this agreement, TWI will distribute Orbit's award-winning VoIP long distance and Internet dial-up access service to residential and small business subscribers in major urban areas in the United States and Canada - wherever Orbit establishes Points of Presence ("POPs"). TWI, which specializes in marketing and selling telecommunication services, has been granted the right to use print, radio, television, telemarketing and other techniques to acquire customers on a non-exclusive basis. TWI has agreed to devote its considerable experience and marketing resources to promoting Orbit services to the exclusion of all other communication services in the marketplace. TWI also has an exclusive right to distribute Orbit services using a Multi-Level or Network Marketing structure.
This Agreement enables Orbit to greatly expand its business quickly and profitably as Orbit will avoid having to expend the time and capital normally associated with the development and management of an "in-house" direct sales force. Under the Agreement, TeleWrx will be responsible for securing subscribers while Orbit will provide customer service, account management, billing and collections, and maintain its state-of-the-art VoIP network infrastructure. Of prime importance is that this Agreement allows Orbit to focus on its core strength - designing, building, and operating advanced Internet-based telecommunications networks.
TWI has committed to signing at least 190,000 subscribers in Canada and the United States in the first year of this agreement, building towards a customer base of more than 1 million subscribers in the third year of the Agreement. Subscribers will be offered packages comprised of long-distance services across North America and unlimited dial-up Internet connectivity on a flat rate basis as well as competitively priced international calling. It is also anticipated that Orbit will develop new, related services to be marketed by TeleWrx during the term of this Agreement.
During the term of the Agreement, Orbit has committed to establishing at least 40 Points of Presence in major American population centers and to maintaining its 12 POPs already in operation across Canada. Orbit's first POP in the United States, located in Newark, New Jersey serving the New York City area, has been installed and is now being tested.
Douglas Lloyd, Orbit's President and CEO stated, "This Agreement marks a significant milestone in Orbit's development. Our network building program with IBM (NYSE:IBM) is under way and we are now positioned to acquire significant numbers of customers. By partnering with TeleWrx, we are further extending VoIP technology from the core of the network out to the demanding user, a critical step in the transformation of the world's public networks."
Michael Brown, the President of TeleWrx, stated, "Orbit's service represent a significant opportunity for higher profit margin sales in North America, especially to residential and small business users. Orbit's VoIP long distance service is reliable, has excellent toll quality voice fidelity and its pricing will motivate users of traditional telephone services to switch. We, at TeleWrx, are eager to begin distributing the Orbit services to individual consumers and small businesses."
About Orbit Canada Inc. / Orbit E-Commerce Inc.
Orbit Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Orbit E-Commerce Inc. (OTCBB:OECI). Its advanced IP network spans Canada and serves up to 85 percent of the nation's populace. Installation of gateways in the United States is underway. Orbit Canada's VoIP network allows subscribers to use their own telephone equipment to make Internet-routed long-distance calls rather than forcing consumers to connect through PC's or special Internet telephones. The development of this user-friendly VoIP format led Frost & Sullivan to award Orbit the research company's much-sought-after Product Innovation Award. In granting this award, Frost & Sullivan claimed that Orbit's network was a model for entrants into the telecommunications field who want to use the new VoIP technologies.
About TeleWrx Inc./Converge Global, Inc.
Converge Global, Inc. (OTCBB:CVRG) has signed a Letter of Intent that could result in TeleWrx, Inc. a Florida corporation becoming a wholly owned subsidiary. Converge has completed preliminary due diligence and the parties have agreed to work toward closing the transaction within the next few weeks.
TeleWrx is a communications company specializing in the sales and marketing of telecommunications products and services through the utilization of network marketing. The Company will offer residential and small business long-distance (VOIP), Internet dialup (56K), calling cards, toll-free service and wireless services including WAP (wireless application protocol) devices.
Home-based businesses have enjoyed explosive growth and experts predict that this growth will be fueled by the expanding markets and new technology in the telecommunications industry. TeleWrx has negotiated partnership agreements with telecommunication and technology industry leaders in order to offer its agents and consumer's cutting edge services at the most competitive prices.
Forward Looking Statements contained in this press release that are not based upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions including potential issues relating to interoperability, inability to introduce new products, changes in market conditions, government regulations, technological changes and other factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein.