ASCENT: Alliance Group Services Acquires Part of EqualNet Customer Base

Wholesale network services provider Alliance Group Services Inc. (AGSI, Booth 306) today announced it has acquired a portion of the EqualNet retail base from CCC Global. AGSi adds this is the first in a planned series of acquisitions commencing this year.

"We are in a strong position to capitalize on the economic conditions and cannot pass on opportunities to infuse our existing organization with additional customers," said Jess DiPasquale, president and CEO of Alliance Group Services, "Our industry has certainly taken its fair share of hits over the past few months, leading to many opportunities for strategic acquisitions. AGSi is in the right place at the right time, operationally sound and profitable."

The company reports new customers are willing to pay a bit more for superior network service and peace of mind through quality customer service, although many are still taking advantage of the very aggressive rates offered by some of its less stable competitors. It expects this trend to continue well into 2003 until network outages, loss of service and quality degradation become a reality.

"There is a flight to quality," says Thomas M. Coughlin, chairman of Alliance Group Services, "Customers are looking for reliable solutions amid the tumult of late. We have added several key accounts over the past few months and plan to continue to acquire both customers and complementary companies."

DiPasquale adds, "Deregulation and the introduction of long-distance competition created a commodity market, driving down prices and forcing companies to make decisions (some good, some not so good) to remain in business. The rate wars of the past contributed to the state of affairs today, and I feel strongly that the impact of the recent debacles has yet to be felt. There will be a return to basic business practices — companies need to make money and will begin increasing prices to cover cost, instead of manipulating numbers to increase stock prices."

AGSi, based in Westport, Conn., was founded in 1997 as a full-service telecommunications firm. Over the course of the next several years the company saw a shift in product demand and focused on its core competency of delivering high-quality network services utilizing Tier 1 carrier backbones. The company has three CICs (carrier identification codes) loaded nationally on one such network, essentially offering customers the same experience as if they were to use the primary carrier backbone directly.