UTStarcom Finds Bolivian Partner

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- UTStarcom, Inc. (NASDAQ:UTSIE) , a global leader in IP-based, end-to-end networking solutions and services, today announced a contract through its regional technology partner, Procom, with Cooperativa de Telefonos Automaticos La Paz (COTEL) for the deployment of its AN-2000(TM) IP-based digital subscriber line access multiplexer (IP DSLAM) solution.

"In a country with a population of more than 9 million people, Bolivia currently has only approximately 270,000 people with access to the Internet," said Martin Rivaben, director of sales for the Southern Cone region for UTStarcom. "With the majority of these users accessing the Internet through dial-up connections, we think there is a great opportunity to increase broadband usage in Bolivia and believe today's announcement is the start of a strong partnership with COTEL."

"Our partnership with UTStarcom positions COTEL as one of the key players in the growing DSL market in Bolivia," said Ernesto Fernandez Inza, treasurer at COTEL. "UTStarcom's AN-2000 IP DSLAM provides us with a flexible platform to offer our subscribers high-speed DSL service now with a smooth migration path to deploy television over IP (TVoIP) and voice over IP (VoIP) services in the future. We believe bundling broadband services such as VoIP and TVoIP will result in reduced subscriber churn and increased average revenue per user, which will mean a faster return on our investment."

UTStarcom Inc.