Start-up : Kast Telecom merges with Axxon

The operator from Sophia Antipolis has just merged with the Canadian Axxon Telecom. The merger promises to be thriving, with local loops in the whole Europe.

Kast Telecom is a telecommunication operator based in Sophia Antipolis, and it has merged with Axxon Telecom, the subsidiary of the Canadian operator, Highpoint Telecommunications. Kast Telecom Europe, the new entity, has its registered office in Sophia Antipolis.Kast Telecom was founded by two Lebanese entrepreneurs, Magdi Houry and Rafic Abou-Fadel. Magdi Houry is the president of the board of directors of the new structure, whereas Rafic Abou-Fadel manages the strategy and the outside relations. John Cronin, the former European director of Axxon, is the new CEO.Kast and Axxon work in the same sector of high speed telecommunication. Rafic Abou-Fadel explains : 'with this merger, we put our forces together, as Kast is well set up in the South of Europe and Axxon in the North. Our ambition is to develop a network of local loops in almost forty European cities, in France, in Italy, in Switzerland, in Spain, in Netherlands, in Germany, in Belgium, in England and in Portugal.'An offer to measure.The customers interested by Kast Telecom Europe are SME as well as big firms : 'we appeal them and we make them regular by an offer in high quality telecommunication, based on new high speed technologies, such as ADSL, optical and radio fibres, and by added-value services integrating the transmission of voice, data and image.''What is essential is not to sell communication fares but rather products to measure. We prefer to be partners rather than mere suppliers, regarding our customers. For a big French real -estate group for firms, for instance, we made an offer that included a great communication traffic, publicity cards with vocal message, the grid of the intranet network that links 125 sites…'In partnership with Lucent Technologies, Kast Telecom has been applying to the ART, to get the licences of radio loops in seven French regions ( the decision is expected in July). Kast Telecom is going to settle several local loops in France by 2001 : Nice, Marseille, Lille, Nantes, Paris, Strasbourg, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse, Montpellier. In Switzerland, the loop of Genève should operate in April 2000. In the third quarter of 2001, local loops will be developed in about 15 cities of the Northern European countries (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium).Placing on the Stock Market.To set up this Pan-European network, heavy investments are planned : 'the first investments will be about more than 100 million euros, followed by a loan of 200 million euros from specialized financial institutions. A supplier credit of the same amount is being negociated with our partners. By autumn 2000, the financial deal plans a placing on the Stock Market, to take up more than 300 million euros.'The aim of the new entity is to make a turnover of about 40 million euros and to increase twofold its staff, that is currently about 218 people. Seventy people are hired on the site of Sophia Antipolis, and about 20 people work in the call centre in Nice (Kast on line).