AUDITEL Inc. Partners With U.S. Federal Agencies and The State of N.H. in a National Pilot Rural Export Initiative to Help Businesses Use Advanced Telecommunications for International Business.

HAMPSTEAD, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 7, 1998--AUDITEL, Inc., New England's independent telecommunications management company, will partner with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the State of New Hampshire, the North Country Council and New England Electric Wire Corporation to bring advanced telecommunications technology to businesses in New Hampshire's rural North Country that are interested in selling their products overseas.

This is one of a series of pilot rural export initiatives in the United States to use advanced telecommunications to help small businesses in a rural setting use videoconferencing, electronic commerce on the internet and other state-of-the-art communications technologies to conduct international business. A previous pilot Rural Export Initiative was conducted with companies in rural Appalachia. The New Hampshire pilot will focus on doing business in Canada and Mexico.

The innovative Rural Export Initiative and funding of $25 thousand for the New Hampshire pilot comes from the U.S. Commercial Service under a "rural trade and electronic commerce" provision adopted by Congress for FY 1998. The partnering companies will provide services. The pilot targets companies located in geographic areas with a population of 150 thousand or less, and is part of the U.S. Commerce Department's outreach program to businesses in rural America where there is not easy access to trade services or financing to engage in exporting. Department of Commerce statistics show that an increasing number of manufacturers, software companies and other businesses interested in exporting have moved to rural areas to take advantage of inexpensive land and labor. Many of these firms are characterized as high tech and export-savvy.

The New Hampshire pilot program and AUDITEL will work to establish a rural export infrastructure among participating businesses and with state and regional economic development groups. For example, AUDITEL will oversee the use of video conferencing to allow rural businesses to communicate with freight forwarders, bankers, Commerce Department specialists, etc. that are located hundreds of miles and sometimes states away. To demonstrate how it can work, three national video conference events will be staged in 1998 and down-linked to rural communities across the country, especially in the pilot program areas such as New Hampshire. Videoconferences will be supplemented by workshops and by market research particular to each company's product line.

President of AUDITEL, Inc., Joe Scotti, described his company's involvement in the national pilot program as "a pioneering effort in the use of state-of-the-art telecommunications in rural America at a time when only metropolitan America has easy access to such technology."

Wendell Jesseman, President of New England Wire Corporation, said, "We are excited about being a partner in this pilot program designed to demonstrate the opportunity available to rural exporters by utilizing today's advanced audio/video telecommunications technology."

A number of New Hampshire organizations will take part in the pilot program, including the State of NH Office of Business Development, the North Country Council, the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Office of Economic Initiatives, the New Hampshire International Trade Association, the New Hampshire District Export Council, New Hampshire Stories Inc.,

The Governor's Executive Councilor for Northern New Hampshire, Ray Burton, will play a key role in overseeing the State of New Hampshire's participation in the pilot program. U.S. Commerce Department Representative, Susan Berry, at the International Trade Resource Center at the Pease International Tradeport will oversee the project.

AUDITEL is New England's independent telecommunications management company specializing in auditing and analyzing telecommunications systems, and then advising and managing the installation and use of a growing number of telecommunications technologies by business and government.

New England Wire Corporation is a specialty wire and cable manufacturer celebrating its one hundredth year (100) in business, with product lines as diverse as medical, automotive, superconductor and aviation. New England Electric Wire has experience utilized resources such as the Vermont Technical Institute, University of Vermont, New Hampshire Technical Institute and the Lisbon school system to deliver advanced educational training to rural communities via interactive communication networks.

    CONTACT: Fred Kocher
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