SITEL Enters Into Panamanian Alliance.

SITEL Corp, and Cable & Wireless (CW), a supplier of Internet, data and voice solutions to business customers, reported that their affiliates have signed a letter of intent to form an alliance to build and operate a 400 workstation, expandable to 700 workstation, multichannel contact center in Panama. CW Panama will utilize SITEL's contact center expertise to design and build the center. Once the center is complete, CW Panama will outsource some or all of its existing in-house customer care services to SITEL, which will service CW Panama's customers from the new center. SITEL will manage and operate the center with an initial staff of over 300 customer service professionals. The multi-year arrangement also provides for SITEL and CW Panama to utilize the center for any new business acquired in the Central America region through the joint marketing efforts of both companies. Services to be provided at the center include customer care, technical support and inbound and outbound sales activities through all commu nication channels. The alliance is strongly supported by the Panamanian government, which has targeted contact centers as one of the leading growth industries for their country. The First Vice-President of the Republic of Panama, Mr. Arturo Vallarino, representing the Government, was present at the signing of the letter of intent.