PSINet Announces Global Consolidation

AAP General News (Australia)
02-10-2000
PSINet Announces Global Consolidation

PSINet Announces Global Consolidation of Consumer Operations



HERNDON, Va., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- PSINet Inc. (Nasdaq: PSIX), the Internet
Super Carrier, today announced that it has begun consolidating its
worldwide retail consumer operations into a new wholly owned retail business unit. The
retail unit is being assessed to determine the best manner to maximize PSINet
shareholder value.



Consisting of about 400,000 consumer accounts (mostly outside of the United
States), with over 30 localized consumer portals in more than 20 countries,
producing approximately $80 million in annual revenue, the retail business unit
will include the consumer customers and support operations that PSINet owns
directly. PSINet will deploy an experienced management team and nearly 400 staff
specialists in consumer sales, marketing, and customer support, together with the
existing billing and customer support systems, distributed throughout the top 20
global markets. This retail business unit will be a wholesale customer of PSINet.



"By consolidating consumer customers into a separate unit, we reaffirm and
sharpen our corporate commitment to the PSINet Internet Super Carrier strategy and
the long-standing relationships with our strategically important wholesale ISP
customers," said PSINet chairman and chief executive officer William L. Schrader.

"During our aggressive two-year acquisition program to build a business
customer-focused presence in the top world markets, PSINet acquired 60 commercial
ISPs and, with them, accumulated consumer customers. This realignment of our
assets better exploits the shareholder value embedded in the directly-owned retail
consumer customer base that came with these acquisitions."



PSINet's Internet Super Carrier strategy builds upon existing
globally-distributed core assets that include:



* An IP-only network, built on PSINet-owned fiber, satellite and wireless

facilities,



* A PSINet-owned web hosting E-commerce environment consisting of

2 million, square feet of state-of-the-art infrastructure under

development in 24 centers on five continents,



* A full suite of Internet access and E-commerce products for corporate

customers,



* An extraordinary sales and customer service organization in 26 nations,



* A consumer wholesale business unit, serving leading ISPs and telephone

companies, with Internet services supporting nearly 1 million consumers,



* Over 85,000 corporate accounts producing annual revenue of about

$1 billion.



PSINet's ISP wholesale business currently provide access to more than 250 ISP
customers, serving more than 800,000 of those ISPs' consumers. The wholesale ISP
customers include industry leaders such as WebTV (owned by Microsoft), EarthLink
Network, NetZero Inc., and 1stUp.Com.



Headquartered in Herndon, Va., PSINet is an Internet Super Carrier offering
global e-commerce infrastructure and a full suite of retail and wholesale Internet
services through wholly-owned PSINet subsidiaries. Services are provided on
PSINet-owned and operated fiber, satellite, web hosting and switching facilities
providing direct access in more than 800 metropolitan areas in 27 countries on
five continents. PSINet information can be obtained by e-mail at info@psi.com, by
accessing the web site at www.psinet.com or by calling in the U.S. 800-799-0676.

SOURCE PSINet Inc.

CONTACT: Reid Walker, 703-375-1103, or rwalker@psi.com, or David Lerch,
703-375-1245, or lerchd@psi.com, both of PSINet Inc.

Web site: http://www.psinet.com

(PSIX)
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KEYWORD: BUSINESS & FINANCE ANTH2280

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