Nobilis Health Corp. N.HLTH

EXPLODING DSL MARKET TO FUEL NHC GROWTH

[ErickSodhi]

EXPLODING DSL MARKET TO FUEL NHC GROWTH - NHC completes corporate re-engineering, aligns its resources and experience to position itself as the leading provider of carrier class test access and deployment solutions for the DSL service market MONTREAL, Jan. 12 /CNW/ - NHC Communications Inc., today announced that it has completed its corporate re-engineering program and is staking out a position as a niche leader in the exploding DSL market. Initiated last August, Corporate Mission 2000 has re-engineered every aspect of NHC's operations, in line with its ongoing move away from legacy connectivity and towards value-added switching solutions. Today, with the announcement of a significant purchase order from one of the top 10 Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) in the US, NHC is poised to penetrate the telecommunications market with its innovative VCCST(TM) Solution, which facilitates DSL test access and deployment, enabling telecommunications carriers to cost-effectively deliver high bandwidth to the business or residential user. ``With Corporate Mission 2000, we have re-focused every part of our operations on the high-growth telecommunications market. Our sales staff has been trained and re-deployed, our marketing staff has been re-aligned, and our research and development efforts are turned towards the development of new solutions for the DSL market'', said Sylvain Abitbol, President and Chief Executive Officer of NHC. ``The telecommunications market - and especially DSL deployment - is exploding, and NHC is committed to leveraging its know-how to capitalize on that business opportunity.'' By streamlining operations, lowering operating costs and re-focusing the company, Corporate Mission 2000 has made NHC into a leaner, more nimble, more flexible company, positioned to grow and evolve with the DSL market. ``The Internet is the business of the future, and telecommunications companies are striving for solutions to deliver an enhanced Internet experience to the user. NHC is committed to providing telcos with those solutions'', said Ralph Benatar, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of NHC. NHC Communications Inc. (TSE : NHC) specializes in developing products that increase the competitive edge of its customers by applying innovative technology to the delivery of high-speed mixed media networks. NHC is committed to its customers by delivering superior solutions for physical layer network infrastructures. Backgrounder: NHC's VCCS(TM) Solution THE TELECOM CHALLENGE - DELIVERING COST-EFFECTIVE HIGH BANDWIDTH TO THE USER ____________________________________________________ The Internet explosion has created a wealth of opportunity for telecommunications companies. However, in order to capitalize on that opportunity, telcos must solve a key issue: how to deliver leading-edge, high-bandwidth Internet content and applications to users, cost-effectively. Increasingly, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is the preferred technology for bringing high-bandwidth information to both the residential and corporate enterprise markets over existing copper telephone lines. DSL combines cost-effectiveness and high performance, making it the ideal solution for CLECs, ILECs (Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers) and other telecom players. The installation of DSL service lines began in 1998 and is expected to continue at a greatly increased pace. IDC projects the North American DSL market is expected to attain more than 4 million lines by 2002, and Frost & Sullivan estimates that the revenues for DSL equipment will grow to $1.7 billion by 2003. But the biggest hurdle is that deployment is difficult, expensive and labour-intensive. DSL networks require more automation and remote monitoring, resulting in high costs and provisioning delays. VIRTUAL CROSS CONNECT SYSTEM (VCCS(TM)) - THE MARKET SOLUTION _____________________________________________________________ NHC's Virtual Cross Connect System (VCCS(TM)) is an innovative test access and deployment solution for service providers such as CLECs who want to take full advantage of the DSL solution. With VCCS(TM), CLECs can rapidly, cost effectively and remotely connect third-party test equipment and deploy a broad range of high-speed DSL services, streamlining operating costs associated with DSL loop qualification and service deployment by eliminating truck rolls and service time. In addition to minimizing service cost by completely automating the testing and service deployment process at the physical layer, NHC's VCCS(TM) Solution delivers: - Remote management capability for CLEC equipment collocated at the ILEC central office, eliminating recurring charges associated with entering the collocation cage - Instant provisioning of DSL services, minimizing service downtime and truck rolls while increasing the service provider's revenues - A protocol-independent design that offers end-to-end network transparency, providing management across multiple technologies (ADSL, IDSL, G-Lite, ISDN, Frame Relay, Fractional T1 and E1, T1 and E1) - The ability to interface and operate with third party test equipment, facilitating integration within the collocation site. For the past 10 years, NHC has been in the business of providing integrated network switching solutions at the physical layer. Today, NHC is leveraging that know-how into a niche leadership position in the rapidly-expanding DSL market. -0- 01/12/2000 For further information: Sylvain Abitbol, President and CEO, NHC Communications Inc., Telephone: [phone], Fax: [phone], Internet:[e-mail]; Sylvain Brossard, vice-president Finances and Operations, NHC Communications Inc., Telephone: [phone], Fax: [phone],Internet: [e-mail], Web Site: www.nhc.com To request a free copy of this organization's annual report, please go to www.newswire.ca and click on reports@cnw.