Vero Beach, Fla., August 2, 2004 — Broadband National Inc. today announced it has been selected by Swank Audio Visuals to provide commercial-grade broadband connectivity to support its operations in 100 hotels nationwide. Swank operates offices in major hotels such as Hyatt, Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and Wyndham.
Swank represents Broadband National’s 500th multi-site business customer. This week Broadband National successfully deployed its 100th broadband connection for Swank, at the Swank Audio Visuals office in Washington, DC.
Swank utilizes Broadband National’s free, online marketplace to evaluate high-speed Internet services and pricing from more than 40 different suppliers. Swank also uses Broadband National’s free, unbiased consulting services to identify the broadband services best suited for its diverse office-location and bandwidth requirements. Broadband National’s process and provision management also helps deploy complex orders on a timely basis.
“With the advent of Broadband National’s service, we no longer need to invest valuable time wading through dozens of broadband offerings for our offices. We simply go online or call Broadband National’s consultants to quickly identify the lowest-priced solutions for multiple locations in a single transaction,” said Robert Hunter, Swank’s vice president of information technology. “Questions regarding DSL distances, provisioning and installation support are all included in the service. We expect to continue using their services as we grow our network of audio-visual locations.”
Broadband National President Vinny Olmstead said, “Swank is an excellent example of how our free, impartial services can help multi-site businesses quickly secure the best broadband values. Companies in the retail, hospitality, financial services and many other industries continue to use our web site and consulting on an ongoing basis. That loyalty has helped us reach this important milestone in a relatively short time. We expect to assist hundreds more businesses by year’s end.”
How Broadband National’s Online Marketplace Helps Businesses
Broadband National’s online service is powered by its proprietary Integrated Broadband Information System (IBIS), which aggregates dozens of disparate broadband offerings into one location. Businesses with 1 to 15,000 locations can identify solutions almost instantaneously, with guaranteed best pricing. The IBIS system enables Broadband National to serve as a single source for service selection, contract negotiation, order processing and provision management — providing businesses with significant savings in labor costs and monthly telecom expenses, a 32% cost savings on average.
Broadband National has sold broadband services to 500 multi-site businesses on behalf of its suppliers, generating several million dollars in annual revenue for those suppliers. As an indirect sales channel, Broadband National receives a percentage of the revenue it generates for each supplier. Revenue from suppliers is recurring and is paid to Broadband National on a monthly basis for one to five years — depending upon the length of the end-user contract.
Broadband National’s IBIS system combines an extensive national database with the offerings of local, regional and national broadband suppliers. The unprecedented IBIS database includes more than 100 million business and residential records — each pre-qualified for availability of broadband services and pricing options from each Broadband National supplier. IBIS is the only national system that has aggregated the disparate broadband offerings into one location.
About Swank Audio Visuals
Based in St. Louis, Swank Audio Visuals has more than 65 continuous years of expanding business operation. Swank provides many trade associations and major companies with audio-visual equipment and technicians for their important meetings.
About Broadband National
Broadband National (www.broadbandnational.com) is a full-service, nationwide provider of broadband services to businesses and consumers. The Company’s service, powered by its proprietary IBIS system, enables end users to compare broadband solutions offered by more than 40 different suppliers, including Covad, XO Communications, ITC DeltaCom, SpeakEasy and Nuvox. Broadband solutions include Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable Internet, Voice over IP (VoIP), T-1 and fractional T-1 lines. Hundreds of businesses such as Starbucks, the U.S. Postal Service, Cole Haan and Northrup Grumman use Broadband National as a convenient, one-stop resource for broadband contract negotiation, order processing and provision management. Broadband National, founded in 2002, is based in Vero Beach, Fla. and has sales offices in Orlando and Denver.
For Broadband National press or investor relation’s inquiries, please contact Mark Ballard at 772-539-0618 or visit www.broadbandnational.com
