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Internet Satellite Platform, Inc. Files for Chapter 11 Protection; ISAT Seeks Investment; Satellite Internet Service Remains Uninterrupted ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. --(Business Wire)-- July 27, 2004 -- Internet Satellite Platform, Inc. (ISAT), the leading provider of wholesale satellite-based Internet services, today announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection and is seeking interim and long-term funding.ISAT, which has over 200+ active Internet Service Provider and Rural Telco partners and over 4,000 subscribers, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection on June 9, 2004, after management was unable to close on a second $500k tranche of a $2m Series C round it had closed in April 2004. Not being able to close on the second tranche of the Series C round left ISAT's management unable to continue its operations at a level that the business and its partners demanded. ISAT's management has been in discussions with several entities from within the industry since June 9, 2004 to secure needed interim and permanent funding and believes that it will be able to close an interim funding round in the near future. To date however, management has been unable to secure funding. "If ISAT is able to assemble the right combination of funding partners, from within or outside the industry, we are confident that our satellite Internet service can continue to be the best performing and lowest priced Internet via satellite offering in the Americas," said Mario J. Pino, President of ISAT. Until the filing, ISAT built its wholesale satellite Internet business steadily, and completed 2003 with revenues of approx. $2m. ISAT earns revenue on a wholesale basis from end-users that subscribe to the Internet via satellite service through it's 200+ active partners who retail the service to their dial-up subscribers residing predominately in rural areas of the United States. To deliver the Internet via satellite service, ISAT leases capacity on two (2) of SES AMERICOM satellites, AMC6 and AMC4. ISAT's primary service is delivered within the United States via the AMC6 satellite, in the KU band, with service also being offered to the C band dish market via the AMC4 satellite. The Internet via satellite signal is uplinked to these satellites from two (2) teleport facilities located in Georgia (Crawford Communications) and Maryland (SES AMERICOM). ISAT's management believes that its flagship high-speed Internet solution, SatXpress, optimizes the structural economics of satellite technologies while capitalizing on the satellite strengths: One-way broadcasting. The wholesale broadband solution combines standards-based satellite technology with terrestrial-based dialup service allowing ISPs and rural telco operators to brand this solution to reach consumers and businesses in areas where broadband access is not available. About Internet Satellite Platform, Inc. Internet Satellite Platform, Inc. is a privately held Florida corporation established to leverage the best in Internet and satellite technologies. The company's highly reliable and scalable satellite-based platform enables ISAT to extend broadband Internet services through its ISP and Data CLEC partners to subscribers living primarily in rural areas of the U.S., Canada and Latin America, where other forms of terrestrial (e.g. cable modem or DSL) broadband services are not available. ISAT is 19.9% owned by SES AMERICOM, the largest supplier of satellite services in the United States. ISAT utilizes SES AMERICOM's hybrid AMC-6 satellite optimized to serve the enterprise, Internet/ISP, VSAT, and media markets. As a member of the SES GLOBAL family, SES AMERICOM is able to provide end-to-end telecommunications solutions to any region in the world. For further information on ISAT or its solutions, call (407) 831-2700 x313 or visit http://www.isatplatform.com. |
