Exhibit 99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2000
DIGITAL
TELEPORT, INC.
DIGITAL TELEPORT, INC.
8112 MARYLAND AVENUE
ST. LOUIS, MO 63105
CONTACT:
Gary W. Douglass
Senior Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer
Phone: (314) 880-1800
Fax: (314) 880-1999
[email protected]
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Visit our web site at
www.dti-usa.com
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DIGITAL TELEPORT, INC. ANNOUNCES CANCELLATION OF CERTAIN
ROUTES TO BE DELIVERED TO ADELPHIA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, AUGUST 29, 2000 - DTI Holdings, Inc., the parent of Digital
Teleport, Inc., a facilities-based telecommunications company focusing on
providing access to underserved secondary and tertiary cities, today announced
that Adelphia Business Solutions has exercised its right to cancel delivery of
certain route segments or portions thereof included in an IRU and
telecommunications services Agreement with DTI dated November 9, 1999.
These cancellations with respect to five routes or portions thereof, will result
in approximately $3.8 million in reduced future cash collections under the
Agreement, plus the repayment to Adelphia of approximately $1.6 million
previously paid to DTI by Adelphia.
In addition to providing for certain rights to cancel delivery of route segments
not delivered to them by agreed upon dates, the Agreement also provides for
monthly financial penalties for late deliveries. As of July 31, 2000, DTI is
late with respect to delivery of all routes and accrued penalties under the
Agreement totaled approximately $2.5 million. These penalties will result in an
offset to future cash receipts by DTI upon delivery of the remaining routes.
"We are naturally disappointed with Adelphia's decision to cancel delivery of
certain routes which had been delayed beyond the agreed due date," said Richard
D. Weinstein, DTI's President and CEO. "However, we continue to work very
closely with Adelphia representatives on a daily basis in an effort to deliver
the remaining routes by a revised completion date schedule," he added.
DTI is creating an approximately 20,000-route mile fiber optic network comprised
of 23 regional rings interconnecting primary, secondary and tertiary cities in
37 states. By providing high-capacity voice and data transmission services to
and from secondary and tertiary cities, as well as primary markets, the Company
intends to become a leading wholesale provider of regional communications
transport services to interexchange carriers and other communications companies.
DTI is offering its carrier customers dedicated, virtual circuits through the
exclusive use of high capacity, ring-redundant optical windows from wavelength
division multiplexing equipment on the regional rings throughout the DTI
network. DTI will use optical windows to offer its carrier customers a high
quality, ring-redundant means to efficiently deliver their calls to a
significant number of end-users along these rings.
The DTI regional rings will also offer carriers a means to aggregate, for
further long haul transport, the outgoing calls of that carrier's customers
along such rings to regional points of interconnection between the carrier's
network and DTI's network for further transport by the carrier.
KLT Telecom Inc., an affiliate of Kansas City Power & Light, Inc., owns 50% of
DTI. KLT Telecom Inc. was incorporated in March 1995 to explore niche market
opportunities in wireless communications and regional telecommunication
infrastructure.
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Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements that are
subject to material risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ
materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due
to risks and uncertainties associated with its businesses, which include among
others, competitive developments, risks associated with the Company's growth,
the development of the Company's markets, regulatory risks, dependence on its
major customers and their spending patterns and other risks which are discussed
in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional
information of factors that may affect the business and financial results of DTI
can be found in DTI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
