Newfoundland Telephone Becomes NewTel Communications
Nigel Allen
Newfoundland, has decided to rename its largest operating company.
Newfoundland Telephone will now be known as NewTel Communications.
Since its acquisition of Terra Nova Telecommunications Inc. from
Canadian National Railways a few years ago, Newfoundland Telephone has
been Newfoundland's only local exchange carrier.
NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE NEWS
FOR: NEWTEL ENTERPRISES LIMITED
TSE SYMBOL: NEL
APRIL 17, 1996
NewTel Launches New Identity
ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND--At its Annual General Meeting, held today,
NewTel Enterprises Limited introduced a new name for its largest
subsidiary, a new look for all of its subsidiaries, and a cautiously
optimistic outlook for the year ahead.
Speaking to an audience representing more than 74 percent of the
Company's ownership, Vince Withers, President and CEO, told
shareholders that "while consolidated performance for 1995 fell short
of 1994 results, there were strong performances from our non-regulated
subsidiaries. This group produced a 37 percent increase over the
previous year in aggregate net income contribution. Information
technology and advanced communications services are becoming a greater
part of NewTel's total business. We are confident that with a
stabilization in pricing for long distance services, strengthening
markets for new value-add products and services, and continued growth
in the Company's non-regulated subsidiaries, NewTel will return to
earnings growth in 1996."
To signify the radical transformation of its business over the past
five years Mr. Withers announced that the Company's largest
subsidiary, Newfoundland Telephone Company, is changing its corporate
name to NewTel Communications. This change and the adoption of a
common new logo for all the NewTel companies represents a
repositioning of NewTel and a redefinition of its corporate vision.
The Company will focus on telecommunications, information technology
and advanced services all brought about by the convergence of
computers, communications and entertainment. NewTel is well
positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented
by this convergence.
The new identification will appear on customer billing information
within the next month and on the Company's Eastern Region telephone
directory in June. Over the next several months the new look will be
added to company vehicles and real estate.
In conjunction with this change all of the companies in the NewTel
group will be adopting a new universal logo. The NewTel wordmark,
incorporating an elliptical design element, will be used by all of the
NewTel subsidiaries and will replace existing logos.
The Shareholders elected 13 members to the board of directors:
Rex Anthony, President, Anthony Management Inc., St. John's, Nfld.;
Miller Ayre, Publisher and General Manager, The Evening Telegram,
St. John's, Nfld.;
James Barnes, Professor, Faculty of Business Administration,
Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Nfld.;
Thomas Bourke, President and CEO, BCE Directories Group, Montreal,
Que.;
James Chalker, Q.C., Senior Partner, Chalker, Green & Rowe,
Barristers & Solicitors, St. John's, Nfld.;
William Fitzpatrick, President, North Star Cement Limited, Corner
Brook, Nfld.;
Joesf Fridman, Senior Vice-President, Law and Corporate Secretary
BCE Inc., Montreal, Que.;
Albert Hickman, President, Hickman Motors Limited, St. John's,
Nfld.;
Charles Labarge, President and COO, BCE Mobile Communications Inc.,
Etobicoke, Ont.;
Sheilah Mackinnon Drover, Vice-Principal, Botwood Memorial Academy,
Botwood, Nfld.;
Peter Outerbridge, Chairman, Chelston Investments Limited, St.
John's, Nfld.;
Charles White, Q.C., Senior Partner, White, Ottenheimer and Baker,
Barristers and Solicitors, St. John's, Nfld.; and
Vincent Withers, President and CEO , NewTel Enterprises Limited and NewTel
Communications Inc., St. John's, Nfld.
NewTel Enterprises Limited is a Newfoundland based company which has
built a $1 billion advanced telecommunications and information
technology infrastructure in the province, highlighted by the second
highest penetration of fibre optics among Canadian telecommunications
companies. The Company's operating subsidiaries are: NewTel
Communications (formerly Newfoundland Telephone) the principal
provider of telecommunications and information handling services
throughout the Province; NewTel Information Solutions Limited, the
eighth largest information technology company in Canada; NewTel
Mobility Limited, the pre-eminent provider of cellular and satellite
communications in the Province; Paragon Information Systems, the
province's major provider of Internet services; and NewTech
Instruments Limited, a full service contract manufacturer for the
telecommunications, marine, and defence industries. NewTel
Enterprises has approximately 6,000 common shareholders, 34 percent of
whom live in the province. The Company's shares are traded on the
Toronto Stock Exchange - Stock Symbol NEL.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
NewTel Enterprises Limited
Gary E. Lane,
Investor Relations Officer
(709) 739-2108 or 1-800-563-2473 (Toll Free in Canada)
forwarded to the TELECOM Digest by
Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario nda...@io.org http://www.io.org/~ndallen/
CV available upon request