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The Sky's the Limit for Gil Santaliz, President, 4ConnectionsELIZABETH, N.J., July 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Gil Santaliz will do whatever it takes to seal a deal and serve his clients. He'll even jump out of an airplane. As a young executive in the making, Santaliz, the president and founder of 4Connections, a broadband technology company based in Elizabeth, N.J., left a lasting mark at MCI Inc., where he served as regional business development manager in the early 1990s. It was at MCI in 1993 that Santaliz took the company's "whatever it takes" motto so seriously he went skydiving with a client prospect from the Bank of Mexico in an effort to land the account. Santaliz's skydiving adventure became a national advertising campaign for MCI -- and the Bank of Mexico emerged into a billion-dollar joint venture for the company. Just as MCI overcame obstacles in the telecommunications industry to achieve savings for customers in 1990s, Santaliz is breaking through barriers in the broadband industry in the 21st Century, expanding speed and access for business customers and municipalities at substantial savings over fees imposed by traditional broadband service providers that have dominated the industry for decades. Moving Business at the Speed of Light 4Connections' clients range from multinational corporations and mid-size businesses, to municipalities, hospital consortiums and universities. Santaliz and his company are giving businesses in New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area the ability to deploy their communications networks at the speed of light by leasing strands of dark fiber to companies that in turn are able to dramatically reduce their telecommunications expenditures by 40% to 70% by renegotiating or establishing new carrier agreements, and at the same time increase transmission quality and speed nearly 100-fold. Financial Institutions Turn to 4Connections for Expansion of Data Deployment, Data Storage, Disaster Recovery and Emergency Backup One example is 4Connections' client, OMX, the Swedish Stock Exchange. 4Connections created a dark fiber metro ring to provide OMX with high-speed data processing, storage, retrieval and backup from the company's North American Headquarters in New York, to its back-office facility in New Jersey. Because the strands of fiber travel on different pathways to a location in New Jersey, OMX's operations is prepared to and has withstood several events such as the New York power outage of 2003. Counties and Municipalities Turn to 4Connections' Dark Fiber to Reduce Telecommunications and Internet Costs and Stimulate Economic Development Last year, 4Connections launched its first municipal fiber network in Long Branch, N.J., which is undergoing an economic resurgence. The fiber optic network is central to the municipality's redevelopment and tax stabilization initiatives. Because of 4Connections' fiber network, municipal offices and Long Branch's public schools are reducing telecommunications and Internet costs by sharing their own network. In Union County, N.J., data speed has increased in county government offices from 3 megabits to 100 megabits and the county is paying less for the service. 4Connections has not only helped Union County improve its technology infrastructure, but the fiber-optic network built by 4Connections is a critical component of the future economic development in the county. The City of Elizabeth, which is the county seat, is also a 4Connections customer. Because Elizabeth has its own dark fiber ring, businesses in the city can tap into city's dark fiber. One example is Costamar Travel, a family-owned travel agency based in Elizabeth. Travel Agency Gains Mega Opportunities By Tapping Into 4Connections' Dark Fiber Ring in Elizabeth, N.J. Costamar Travel, a family-owned travel agency with offices in Elizabeth, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Lawndale, Calif., is paying less for its phone rates and broadband service, and is operating at faster speeds because 4Connections provided Costamar with access to Elizabeth's dark fiber ring. Costamar's broadband speed went from 5 megabits at $3,000 per month to 100 megabits for $2,000 per month. The increase in broadband speed is also opening up new business opportunities for Costamar Travel, which plans to expand its customer offerings with real-time customer service and video conferencing for customers who want to communicate live with their family and friends abroad. "When Costamar first explored dark fiber, we were looking at increasing efficiencies and reducing costs, but the new technology is having a far greater impact by giving our agency new opportunities to expand our business and improve customer service," says Gabriel Concas, vice president of Costamar Travel. 10,000 Fiber Miles in Four Years Since 4Connections was founded in 2001, the company has laid 10,000 fiber miles through the Garden State. And Gil Santaliz is preparing for his next fiber feat yet -- activating a 4Connections fiber network throughout the entire state of New Jersey. "My ultimate goal in New Jersey is to provide fiber access to communities like Elizabeth and Long Branch that are typically overlooked by other carriers," says Santaliz. On the corporate side, says Santaliz, his challenge is to help companies realize a rapid return on their fiber network investment. "It's a whole shift in doing business," adds Santaliz. "The returns on establishing an independent fiber presence at a carrier hotel will empower business to operate more efficiently, cost-effectively and competitively in the marketplace." For more information, please visit 4Connections' Web site, http://www.4connections.net/. 4Connections, LLC CONTACT: Angela Crincoli Harrington for Harrington Communications,+1-973-912-8196, [email protected], for 4Connections Web site: http://www.4connections.net/ |