STP.L Regulatory News (STP)

15 Nov 2007 07:01

Spiritel PLC15 November 2007 Embargoed until 0700h, 15 November 2007 SPIRITEL PLC ("Spiritel" or "the Company") SPIRITEL SIGNS THE UK'S LARGEST BUSINESS VoIP AND WiFi CONTRACT WITH REGENT INNS PLC Spiritel plc, (AIM:STP) the telecommunications services company, is pleased toannounce that it has signed a five year contract for up to £1.25 million withone of the UK's leading hospitality companies, Regent Inns plc (or "Regent").Spiritel will provide Regent, owner of the Walkabout, Old Orleans, Jongleurs andBar Risa outlets, with VPN management, hosted VoIP and customer WiFi to their100 sites across the UK, their head office in Borehamwood and to a number oftheir field-based staff. This contract follows the successful completion of atrial earlier this year. For Regent's staff, the solution provides complete geographic freedom for theircommunications needs and the ability to work with the same degree of efficiencyand functionality from home or any Regent site. At Regent's 100 bars andrestaurants, customers will be able to enjoy a free WiFi experience whilst staffwill benefit from a network infrastructure that simultaneously manages voice,data, entertainment and security services. The technology deployed as part ofthe solution also provides Regent with the opportunity to offer a wide range ofadditional services to their customers in future. Spiritel worked alongside Mitel (with whom they hold the highest level ofaccreditation as a premier partner) to ensure record breaking deployment of theservice using Mitel's 3600 hosted VoIP platform. Spiritel's recentlyrestructured Technologies division managed the development of the solution forRegent Inns, hosting the 3600 platform and managing the networking servicesprovided to the customer. The Business division is managing the nationwide roll-out of the service where all voice and data services will be invoiced on asingle monthly bill. Commenting on the announcement, Alastair Mills, Chief Executive of Spiritelsaid: "We are delighted to have signed this contract to provide Regent Inns witha fully converged voice and data solution for their offices and outlets. It isparticularly significant in that it is the UK's largest multi-site hosted VoIPdeal and Spiritel's largest contract win to date. The solution is representativeof an accelerating migration towards converged IP based communications andhaving been won in competition with two of the UK's largest telecoms providers,demonstrates our ability to generate significant new revenues in this fastgrowing market." Adam South of Regent Inns added: "The solution provided by Spiritel enables usto offer our customers free wireless internet access from all our bars andrestaurants, whilst also delivering efficiencies on infrastructure spend andmanagement. Spiritel's proposition was tailored to our needs and provides theright operation and commercial model to deliver the service we wanted for ourbars, restaurants and staff. The solution also provides the opportunity for usto offer customers additional services quickly and cost effectively in thefuture." Enda Kenneally, UK Sales Director of Mitel, who worked closely with Spiritel onthe project commented: "This contract is a testament to Spiritel's ability tocapitalise on the fast growing demand for converged communication services. TheCompany's experience in the hospitality industry, linked to its knowledge of ourmarket-leading 3600 VoIP technology puts it in a strong position to benefit froma rapidly evolving communications market. We look forward to further developingour relationship with Spiritel as we support the Company in its delivery ofinnovative IP-based solutions for its customers." -ends- For further information please visit www.spiritelplc.com or contact: Spiritel plc Tavistock Communications Landsbanki Securities (UK) LimitedAlastair Mills Simon Hudson Sindre OttesenChief Executive Clemmie Carr Sebastian JonesTel : +44 20 7160 0100 Tel: +44 20 7920 3150 Tel: +44 20 7426 9000 Definitions "WiFi" or "Wireless Fidelity": A wireless technology brand owned by the WiFiAlliance intended to improve the inter-operability of wireless local areanetwork products based on a certain standard. Common applications for WiFiinclude Internet and VoIP phone access, gaming and network connectivity forconsumer electronics such as televisions, DVD players and digital cameras. "VPN" or "Virtual Private Network": A communications network tunneled throughanother network and dedicated for a specific network. One common application issecure communications through the public Internet. "VoIP" or "Voice over IP (Internet Protocol)": A technology used to transmitvoice conversations over a data network. This is done by digitising voice intodiscrete packets that are transferred independently over a data network, insteadof using traditional circuit-switched telephony networks. Notes to Editors Spiritel is a telecommunications group which seeks to take advantage of theopportunities created by rapidly changing telecoms markets in the UK as themigration to Internet Protocol (IP) based delivery accelerates. The Group is aconsolidator of the highly fragmented UK telecoms reseller market and aims tobuild a substantial customer base and scale through selective acquisitions. Weare organised into two divisions, Spiritel Technologies - focused on ourinfrastructure and IP products and services - and Spiritel Business, whichprovides our customer services. Today, the Group offers a broad range of telecommunications services andproducts to a customer base of small and medium sized enterprises and anincreasing number of larger national organisations. We are a leader in theprovision of new, but proven, Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions that are firmlybased on the old-fashioned service values, which run throughout the Group. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange