Ting Fiber, Inc. ("TFI"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tucows Inc.
(Nasdaq:TCX) (TSX:TC), announced today that it has entered into a
definitive agreement to acquire 70% ownership of an independent
Internet service provider in Charlottesville, Virginia doing
business primarily as Blue Ridge InternetWorks ("BRI").
BRI provides high speed Internet access, Internet hosting and
network consulting services to over 3,000 customers in Central
Virginia.
Ting (ting.com) disrupted the mobile industry with its launch in
2012, offering shockingly fair pricing, usable interfaces and
no-hold, no-transfer live customer support. This acquisition
signals an ambition to bring the same sort of sanity and innovation
to the cable industry.
"The expansion from mobile to fixed access is almost obvious for
us," explained Tucows CEO Elliot Noss. "The only customers in the
world more starved for great service and fair pricing than mobile
phone customers are cable customers. They deserve that."
"But we have an opportunity with BRI in Charlottesville to offer
even more than great service at a low price. The step up to
gigabit, or ultra high-speed, access is profound," continued Mr.
Noss. "It can change the way people use and enjoy the Internet. It
can help attract and grow businesses and transform a
community."
"There is a wonderful movement going on. Towns are excited about
the potential of fiber and they are lobbying for it. So far, these
build-outs have mostly been 'side projects' for industry giants. I
think we can prove there is enough demand and profit to make it
work absolutely anywhere and to attract and sustain smaller, more
customer-focused providers like us. It's an exciting
experiment."
Jeff Cornejo, co-founder of BRI, echoed this enthusiasm. "For
almost fifteen years, we have provided a wonderful, service-driven
alternative to big guys like Comcast and CenturyLink. But to do
what we want to do, to give Charlottesville the fastest, best
Internet access in the country, we needed some more muscle. Ting
gives us the capital and the technical capabilities we need without
compromising our focus on customer relationships."
Mr. Noss concluded, "For shareholders, this is a rare
opportunity. In one deal, we get customers, revenue, prospects,
infrastructure and a wealth of fiber expertise. We get an inside
track on a game changing technology."
TFI will acquire 70% of the newly formed Ting Virginia LLC and
its acquired subsidiaries, Blue Ridge Websoft LLC (doing business
as Blue Ridge InternetWorks), Fiber Roads, LLC and Navigator
Network Services, LLC (the "BRI Group"). The remaining 30% interest
in Ting Virginia LLC, which is subject to certain Call and Put
Options, will be retained by the current owners of the BRI Group.
The founders of the BRI Group will remain with the company. The
price and terms of the acquisition were not announced. The
acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary
closing conditions and is expected to close during the first
quarter of 2015.
Visit https://ting.com/internet to learn more about Ting and the
benefits of fiber, to sign up for updates or to talk to us about
bringing gigabit Internet to your town.
Conference Call
Tucows management will host a conference call today, December
16, 2014 at 5:00 pm (ET) to discuss this announcement. Participants
can access the conference call by dialing 1-888-231-8191 or 647-
427-7450 or via the Internet at
http://www.tucows.com/investors.
For those unable to participate in the conference call at the
scheduled time, it will be archived for replay both by telephone
and via the Internet beginning approximately one hour following
completion of the call. To access the archived conference call by
telephone, dial 1-855-859-2056 or 416-849-0833 and enter the pass
code 54400285 followed by the pound key. The telephone replay will
be available until Tuesday, December 23, 2014 at midnight ET. To
access the archived conference call as an MP3 via the Internet, go
to http://www.tucows.com/investors.
About Blue Ridge InternetWorks
Blue Ridge InternetWorks' headquarters and data center are
located in Charlottesville, VA. Founded in 2000, BRI offers
hosting, IT services and high-speed Internet access for 3,000
customers. BRI has a staff of 25 employees. This team plans,
designs, implements and maintains high-speed data networks.
About Ting
Ting (https://ting.com) offers mobile that makes sense. Ting has
no contracts, no overage penalties and no hidden fees. Minutes,
megabytes and messages are each billed separately and customers
only pay for the usage levels they actually hit. Businesses and
families can have unlimited devices on one account and share usage
for even greater savings. Active devices on an account cost just $6
per month. Ting offers a clear, usable website and smart,
accessible people that are empowered to solve problems.
Starting today, Ting will start making fixed Internet make sense
too.
About Tucows
Tucows is a provider of network access, domain name and other
Internet services. Ting (https://ting.com) is a mobile phone
service provider dedicated to bringing clarity and control to US
mobile phone users. OpenSRS (http://opensrs.com) manages over 13
million domain names and millions of value-added services through a
global reseller network of over 13,000 web hosts and ISPs. Hover
(http://hover.com) is the easiest way for individuals and small
businesses to manage their domain names and email addresses. More
information can be found on Tucows' corporate website
(http://tucows.com).
This release includes forward-looking statements as that term is
defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 including statements regarding and the acquisition, its timing
and impact. These statements are based on management's current
expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
described in the forward-looking statements, including
the parties' ability to obtain regulatory approvals and
satisfy closing conditions and integration of the BRI Group into
our Company. Information about other potential factors that
could affect Tucows' business, results of operations and financial
condition is included in the Risk Factors sections of Tucows'
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the
understanding of their inherent uncertainty. All forward-looking
statements are based on information available to Tucows as of the
date they are made. Tucows assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.
CONTACT: Media Contact:
Jesse Simms
416-535-0123 x1209
jsimms@tucows.com
Investor Contact:
Lawrence Chamberlain
416-815-0700 ext. 257
lchamberlain@tmxequicom.com
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