ATLANTA, December 15 /PRNewswire/ --
- US$67 Million Deal is the First Part of an Exclusive 10-Year Partnership for 14 Projects Worldwide
Fantastic Network Solutions (FNS), a global provider of IT solutions including voice, data and IP television, has signed a US$67 million agreement with Panama International Merchandise Mart (PIMM), the largest business marketplace in Latin America that brings together showrooms, merchants, offices, hotels, a convention center and a host of services to create a mini-city.
This is the first segment of an exclusive 10-year agreement under which FNS will build the technology infrastructure and provide next generation telephony, communications networks and IT support to 14 wholesale merchandising developments planned by PIMM Holding Inc. worldwide. A rapidly growing, Atlanta-based technology provider, FNS was selected because of its expertise in creating, installing and operating advanced turnkey communications systems.
PIMM's planned global expansion contemplates a multi-billion dollar technology infrastructure investment along the next ten years. FNS's technology infrastructure would total more than US$700 million.
In Panama, FNS will create a voice, data and content network to serve tenants and merchants in PIMM's 34 showroom buildings, four hotels, restaurants, convention center, ten office buildings, condos, apartments and other properties. The firm also will provide a network operations center building, support and maintenance, including on-site IT experts, a call center for customer service and a voice recognition system with multiple language capabilities.
Located near the Colon Free Zone in Panama, PIMM has been designed to fill the void for companies and merchants wishing to partake in international trade without the barriers of doing business in North America, leveraging tax, financing and access advantages available in Panama. PIMM offers this opportunity to global merchants, including those on the 2,500 tenant wait list for space in the Colon Free Zone. With the FNS agreement, PIMM will now also provide the highest level of IT offerings anywhere in the world.
This agreement gives us a tremendous opportunity to prove our unrivaled IT expertise and leadership across the world, said Dennis M. O'Leary, Chairman and CEO of Fantastic Network Solutions. Not only will we provide cutting edge equipment and best of breed system design to each PIMM market, but we also will manage and support all the IT and telecom services for thousands of users, guaranteeing our firm a steady revenue stream.
I am delighted to work with Nortel and Fantastic Networks. We are going to be the first in the world to offer an artificial-intelligence telecom system, which will allow our users to do business around the world and save money, said Reynald H. Katz, President and CEO of PIMM Holding. The US$67 million investment in this agreement, one of the largest ever made in Latin America for a telecommunications system, is well worth it.
FNS is expected to complete work at PIMM Panama in 2010. A timetable is being finalized for 14 future global deployments in several countries and regions including the U.S., Canada, China, India, Europe, Australia, Russia, South Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico.
About Fantastic Network Solutions:
Fantastic Network Solutions is a global technology provider in the business of selling, installing and servicing IT technology systems including hardware and software that integrates telephone, internet, television and last mile connections for those services. FNS is an authorized reseller of Nortel Networks under and by virtue of an agreement with that firm. www.fantasticnetwork.com
About Panama International Merchandise Mart
PIMM Holding Inc. is the holding company for Panama International Merchandise Mart, S.A., a U.S.-based company that is expanding its operations worldwide. PIMM Holding is currently in negotiations for expansion in the U.S., Canada, China, India, Europe, Australia, Russia, South Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Brazil and Mexico. www.pimmholding.com and www.pimm.com
Dennis M. O'Leary, +1-404-347-4996, dennis.oleary@fantasticnetworks.com, or George Stanwick, +1-404-964-9172, george.stanwick@fantasticnetworks.com, both of Fantastic Network Solutions
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