Linx Communications Secures $5.1 Million in First Round Financing.

NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 1998--

Leading Provider of Advanced Telecommunications Services Receives Funding and Operational Counsel from Advanced Technology Ventures, One

Liberty Ventures

Linx Communications, a leading provider of advanced telecommunications services, including the nation's first local access one number service, announced today that it has raised $5.1 million in funding from two prominent venture capital firms: Advanced Technology Ventures and OneLiberty Ventures.

Founded in 1996, Linx has attracted a loyal customer base of mobile professionals, telecommuters and other businesspeople requiring simple and effective solutions to their telecommunications challenges. The company, which currently offers service in Boston and Washington, DC, will use the new funding to expand its operations into as many as 20 major U.S. markets over the next 18 months, and eventually around the globe.

Linx Communications' services integrate multiple telecommunications tools to enable seamless communications, no matter where the user is. Linx services do not require any changes to a customer's existing environment, and are easily integrated with the office, cellular, home and even pay phones, as well as pagers and fax. Though Linx offers a full suite of services, the company's main focus is the Linx Universal Number and LinxOffice services.

Linx First With Local Access Universal Number

The Linx Universal Number is the nation's first local access one number service that unites all of a user's phone numbers, including fax, under a single number. Linx Universal Number service enables users to screen and route calls to multiple locations simultaneously, allowing the user to always take important calls, yet send others to voice mail. LinxOffice makes the virtual office a reality by providing a completely integrated phone system to a group of distributed users working outside a traditional office setting. LinxOffice also relieves small and medium size businesses of the up-front capital expenditure often required for on-premise systems.

The company's focus on local access to the Linx Universal Number, as opposed to toll free (800 number) access, has met with strong customer approval thus far. Linx has experienced less than one percent "churn" in its customer base since it began offering service early last year - a statistic nearly unheard of in the fiercely competitive world of telecommunications services where people switch carriers and service providers with great regularity.

Plans for National Network

With the funding Linx has received, the company is continuing to build out a network operating center in Boston as well as deploying local switches in all major U.S. markets. The company's switches will be linked together with a private fiber optic network giving users access to the system from various locations using a local number, much the way national Internet Service Providers offer local access numbers to their networks from various points around the country.

"We believe that Linx is the answer to the confusion and complexity of today's telecommunications marketplace," said Joe Gately, president and CEO of Linx. "So many advances have taken place in recent years, yet rather than addressing the key issues of connectivity and ease of use, these new technologies have often made it more difficult for people to reach people. Our goal is to become a nationwide provider of advanced telecommunications services that will grant people a new level of freedom and control over their communications activity. We have great expectations for the future of this market and are pleased that our strategy has been endorsed by two prominent venture firms, as well as by the thousands of professionals now using Linx services."

Future enhancements to Linx services will include a Web interface, automated e-mail notification and conversion to fax, and voice-activated dialing. For customers, the bottom line is that Linx helps them stay in contact and in control of their communications, making them more productive, regardless of where they choose to conduct their business.

"The Linx Universal system has worked extremely well for us and provided us with additional capabilities we didn't even think of," stated Joel Berman, president of Iatric Systems, a software company providing consulting products and programming services in the hospital information services market. "My customers know they can always get in touch with me so they have confidence that they are getting the very best service. The Linx Universal system helps me be more productive every day. I can't imagine running my company without it."

Venture Firms Validate Strategy

In addition to the funding, the two venture capital firms that are financing this first round for Linx will serve on the company's Board of Directors. Michael Frank, General Partner of Advanced Technology Ventures and Joseph T. McCullen, Jr., General Partner of OneLiberty Ventures, each with extensive operational and industry experience, will represent their respective firms on the Board. Both provide strong endorsements for the Linx business strategy.

ATV General Partner Michael Frank has over 15 years' operational and management consulting experience with emerging technology companies and was a co-founder of his own multimedia software firm. Said Frank: "Technologies that will be successful in the future are those that help professionals be more productive. What Linx has brought to market is truly unique, and the loyalty of their subscriber base reflects the strength of their offerings. We're very enthusiastic about the company's prospects."

At OneLiberty, Joseph McCullen leads the firm's telecommunications practice and has involved the firm in a range of telecommunications ventures, including Brooks Fiber Properties, CellCall, Eastern TeleLogic, MetroNet and TeleCorp. Stated McCullen: "There are few industries today that promise the kind of explosive growth that we anticipate in the telecommunications marketplace. Linx is charting new territory, and with its comprehensive suite of services, it is poised for tremendous success."

About Linx Communications

Linx Communications provides advanced telecommunications services that enable professionals to work productively, regardless of their location or the communications tools they use. The company offers a suite of services targeted at mobile professionals, telecommuters and small to medium sized businesses. The Linx Universal Number provides mobile professionals with simultaneous one number access to the multiple phone technologies (home, office and cellular phones, pager, fax) they are already using. Other Linx services offer the full functionality of the most advanced on-premise equipment, yet relieve small and medium size businesses of the up-front investment such systems require. More information is available at www.linxcom.com.