Press Release
AMERICATEL ADDS GARY A. FRY TO EXECUTIVE TEAM, ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF WHOLESALE SERVICES
Telecom Industry Veteran Named Executive Vice President of Corporate Development
ROCKVILLE, MD, January 29, 2009 - Americatel, a Rockville, MD-based provider of telecom services to ethnic consumers and businesses in the United States today announced longtime wholesale telecom executive Gary A. Fry has been named to the newly created position of Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, effective immediately.Mr. Fry, who will report directly to recently-appointed President and CEO Charles G. “Chuck” Taylor, Jr. will drive the strategic growth of Americatel’s U.S. and Canadian Feature Group D network, while also expanding Americatel’s wholesale distribution infrastructure to accommodate explosive growth in the international marketplace.
“We are excited to have Gary join the team. He brings a proven track record of success in developing and leveraging telecom network assets to best serve our customers, partners and shareholders” said Mr. Taylor. “Gary’s experience and familiarity with the wholesale industry will make an immediate impact on our ability to execute our business plan on a daily basis, driving results for Americatel and our wholesale partners.”
Mr. Fry joins Americatel after seven years at telecom wholesaler ANI Networks, the last two as its CEO. Fry, a recent member of the Board of Directors of Comptel, the top industry association representing competitive service providers and their partners, is renowned in industry circles as an authority on the resale of domestic and international long distance telephone services and is a frequent public speaker on the subject.
Prior to ANI Networks, Mr. Fry held various executive management positions in sales, marketing and business development for Pacific Gateway Exchange, MCI (Wiltel/Worldcom), and Cable & Wireless.
About Americatel
Americatel has been owned and operated by its parent company, Platinum Equity, LLC since 2006 and is part of a growing family of telecom companies in the Platinum Equity portfolio including Matrix Telecom. Inc., Covad Communications (www.covad.com), and DCA Services (www.dcaservices.com).
Americatel has been the leading provider of telecommunication services to ethnic businesses and consumers in the United States. The company also works with international long-distance carriers and Internet service providers transacting with the world's emerging economies. We offer high levels of satisfaction to every customer by understanding their needs and cultures,providing exceptional value and delivering reliable communication services.
Building on that tradition, Americatel is dedicated to being the leading provider of communication services to communities around the globe. Americatel services connect world- wide communities through a flexible network of owned and leased facilities, operating and termination agreements, and resale arrangements. Americatel’s technology assets include an extensive network of IP gateways, international gateways, domestic switches and ownership in undersea fiber optic cables. Americatel Corporation services consumers in North America through its Americatel brand and through it’s wholly owned subsidiary, Startec Global Communications (www.startec.com).
Americatel branded services primarily target Hispanic consumers in the United States. Services range from the highly recognized 1010-123 dial around service to the rapidly growing Cellular Accesso and LíneaPaís services. Americatel’s spokesperson, Don Francisco, is one of the most recognized Hispanic celebrities and his television variety show reaches millions of people each week.
Startec branded services are targeted primarily to non-Hispanic consumers throughout the United States and Canada. The key markets it serves are of Asian, European and Middle Eastern origin. Startec markets a range of dial around as well as Direct Dial and CellConnect services.
About Platinum Equity
Platinum Equity, LLC (www.platinumequity.com) , a global M&A&O® firm specializes in the merger, acquisition and operation of companies that provide services and solutions to customers in a broad range of business markets, including information technology, telecommunications, industrials, logistics, manufacturing, and entertainment distribution. Since its founding in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity has completed more than 100 acquisitions with more than $27.5 billion in aggregate annual revenue at the time of acquisition.
For Further Information:
Americatel
Meaghan Treanor
MTreanor [at] americatel.com
(301)-610-4368
