TeliPhone signs Asia distribution agreement with Podar Enterprises of India; initial value of US$600,000 annualized revenues
Montreal, Canada, March 21, 2005 — United American Corporation’s (NASD OTCBB:UAMA) wholly owned subsidiary TeliPhone Inc. has signed an extensive marketing and distribution agreement with Podar Enterprises of Mumbai, India that will bring TeliPhone service to most of Central, South and East Asia, and Eastern Europe as well as parts of the Middle East. The agreement gives Podar exclusive distribution rights for India, China, Russia, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates, a territory with a combined population of well over 2 billion people. Podar will begin distribution with India and then continue rolling out to the other countries over a 12 month period. In addition to TeliPhone’s wireless Internet telephone and wired TeliPhoneLine, a USB TeliPhone handset will be introduced for these markets which will expand market potential to all users with a computer and Internet connection.
“We believe there is an enormous untapped market for this product, particularly when you consider the amount of telephone traffic between Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America” said Rajiv Podar, Podar Enterprise’s President, “We intend to focus on companies and individuals with high international traffic needs and we are very pleased to be working with TeliPhone to develop these markets. The TeliPhone product is a priority for us and will significantly enhance our Infotech division and its clients, which includes broadband wireless Internet.”
George Metrakos, President and CEO of TeliPhone adds: “Our agreement with Podar demonstrates the highly scalable nature of our multi-lingual platform for telecommunications services. We welcome Podar to the TeliPhone team and look forward to working with them to expand our services into this market.”
The agreement calls for a minimum of 4,000 activations over 12 months in India which will result in annualized revenue to TeliPhone of approximately US$600,000. Other target activations by country will be established over the next 45 days. All technical operations will remain in the Montreal location but Podar will maintain its own customer support center in Mumbai.
India represents the 6th largest telecom market in the world with a telephony subscriber base of nearly 80 million and is expected grow by several million over the next 2 years. International long distance (ILD) in 2004 was nearly 6 billion minutes with VoIP accounting for just over 2 billion minutes or 35%. ILD is expected to grow to just over 9 billion minutes by the end of 2006, with VoIP projected to take 55% of the market, some 5 billion minutes.
About Podar Enterprises
Founded in 1926, The Podar Group of Companies consists of several operating divisions dealing with Manufacturing, International Trade, Information Technology and Consulting and operates in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Group's business activities range from Hotels, Aviation, Satellite Services to consultancy and Online Education.
Podar Group has established a global business network consisting of over 16 countries giving access to significant trade, investments and joint venture opportunities. All the divisions combine to make Podar Enterprises a truly global force with varied international interests.
Its flagship division, Podar Infotech, provides goods and services in software, telecommunications, business to business platforms, digital data systems, education and hi-tech consulting.
Under its brand name “WAFT” the company offers a new dimension in connectivity, offering a comprehensive range of Broadband Wireless Connectivity Products and provides a full range of easy to install Wireless LAN and broadband solutions that satisfy the requirements of both corporate horizontal and industrial vertical applications.
Its extensive international trading and business development experience in the target regions will ensure that TeliPhone will be well represented.
About TeliPhone, Inc.
TeliPhone Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of UAC. Since 2001, the company has pioneered Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) in Canada. The company was the first Canadian VoIP service provider to offer a nation-wide telecommunication local call coverage service. The company has developed a powerful back office system that provides an integrated web-based personal portal to their subscribers as well as administrative support to the company, and constitutes the core technology of today's mobile TeliPhone™ services. TeliPhone™ operates its own Main CO (Central Office) in Montreal, where all worldwide TeliPhone™ devices are controlled, thus giving the company the advantage of centralized operations and cost reductions. The company has also established a CO in Manhattan. For more information, visit the company website at www.teliphone.us.
United American Corporation has announced the spin-off of TeliPhone Inc. with a 1 for 1 shareholder stock dividend for shareholders of record effective April 15, 2005. (See UAMA.OB press release dated March 9, 2005.)
About United American Corporation
United American Corporation is a holding and management company of next generation Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) based telecommunication Company. The organization currently has five subsidiaries. Each subsidiary operates in a specific niche market in a fast growing global worldwide IP-based telephony network. The company has created a network, which provides services from local IP-based telecommunication to international telecommunication carriers. TeliPhone™, Inc. operates sophisticated extended local communication VoIP central office, while United American Telecom, Inc. operates CaribbeanONE™, a state-of-the-art International telecommunication route & gateway. For more information, visit the company website at www.unitedamericancorp.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors that may be beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances in management's expectations or opinions change. |