Hello Ashraf and thank you for joining our show today.

AZ: Yes, hi.

WR: Hi, it's great to have you here.

AZ: Thank you.

WR: Let's start now Ashraf by giving us a brief history and overview of your company and tell our audience what it is that you provide.

AZ: Well, NTG Clarity was founded in late 1992 as an IT and network services company. We were leaders in the Internet and Intranet world in 94 and 95 and did some E-commerce work in 95 and 96. In 97 we realigned and reorganized to focus on telecom and network services. We feel that in the last three years we've been able to become one of the leaders in providing network and telecom services to the competitive and incumbent carriers in the Canadian telecom industry.

WR: And now what is your business model and how do you generate your revenue streams?

AZ: Our business module is basically that we provide a unique service in the sense that we provide the end-to-end, complete services that CLECs require. So, we work with the CLECs or the ILECs to provide engineering, provisioning and cabling services - and in doing that, we build trust with the customer. We provide quality work and our prices are right so we find that by building this trust, the customers continue to come back to us. And in this field there is a lot of work in building networks, within Canada and worldwide.

WR: Excellent. Sounds wonderful. And now how large is the market that you are targeting and then what is your potential growth looking forward Ashraf?

AZ: Well, the telecom market in Canada alone is about $60 billion dollars. Obviously, we are not targeting the whole market but we feel that our share could be approximately a hundred million dollars within the next couple of years. So it is a large market and we can do well in it.

WR: Good, and so you see yourself growing rapidly in the next few years?

AZ: Definitely. And we've proved that in the last couple of years. Despite the slow down in the economy in general we are showing that in the last couple of months we've gotten a lot more orders, we have a lot of business happening - so we show that the growth is still there in our sector.

WR: Wonderful. And now what is so unique about NTG Clarity Networks that actually sets you apart from the other key players in your field?

AZ: There are two unique things. First of all: the people. We have excellent people. We've been able to attract some of the best people in North America to our organization. And second, the type of service, which is a complete service. For our customers, they can get bits and pieces from other providers but when they come to us they know they get quality service in all areas.

WR: And now lets talk about your global presence and philosophy. I understand you have offices in Egypt also?

AZ: Yes. Today we have offices and operations across Canada. We recently acquired a company in Egypt because we plan to expand in the Middle East. We're looking at opening an office in the US and expanding into that region this year, too. The important thing for us is that we realize that in the year 2002, deregulation will take place in the global telecom industry. We realize that there is a lot of opportunity for us there and we want to capitalize on this. We know we have the resources. We have the people and we have the skills. And we're positioning ourselves within the companies that are going to deregulate in the next couple of years so we'll be in a good position to provide these services.

WR: Wonderful. And now lets talk about your partnerships and clients, Ashraf. Who are they and what do they consist of, for our audience who may not be familiar with this.

AZ: Well, our clients are basically the top telecom companies in Canada like AT&T Canada, Bell Intrigna, TELUS, Rogers Communications - and there are a lot more. So we have been able, over the years, to build their trust so that now, we provide many of their communication services.

WR: Okay, and now also tell us about you and your management team's background. I'm sure our audience would love to know more about the key players who are working for NTG Clarity Networks.

AZ: Well, myself as the CEO, I have a Masters degree in Engineering from the University of Manitoba and I've worked in the telecommunications industry for the last 20 years. I've worked for Rogers Communications as well as other carriers, and that, I feel gives me a strong understanding of the business needs and requirements of our clients. Also Essam Zaghloul, the President, has a strong management and operations background. He is managing the day-to-day operations of NTG Clarity. Bill Catalano, who is our Chairman of the Advisory Board, has over 20 years of experience in the networking area. So together we have a very strong team.

In our operations area, we have Darcy Hiebert, who is our Vice President of Engineering in the West. He has moved up through the ranks of many telecommunications companies. The same with Tim Connolly, who is our Vice President of Engineering in the East here, and again he has a long history of telecommunications experience.

So we feel we have a team who understands the business, a team who understands the technology and can deliver the service. Also, all of these people are well known, well trusted and qualified.

WR: Okay great. And now lets talk for a moment. Everybody knows the situation of the current stock market. What are your personal strategies now and looking into the future in order to maximize your shareholder value?

AZ: Obviously the stock market itself, it's a worldwide situation. However, we are in a very strong position. We're very strong financially. We have money in the bank and we have no debt. We also have ongoing work with our customers who, in spite of the current situation, are still building large networks. Because of the competition, maybe the weak and the smaller organizations are falling off but the large organizations realize for them to exist they have to build networks across Canada and across North America - and they are aggressively building. We are helping them with this build strategy, which we feel puts us in a strong position. If anything, because of the market today, we feel that we have a better chance of attracting good people and because we have the financial means, we will be able to acquire some of the smaller organizations that can't survive on their own. So we feel we will be far ahead of everybody else as things improve in the market.

WR: And now I understand that NTG Clarity is growing at a rapid pace. Obviously you are going to have to overcome some growing pains. Could you name some challenges and hurdles now that you will face in the coming year and then beyond?

AZ: One of the challenges was acquiring good people but with the downturn in the economy, there are a lot of good people who have been laid off. We are fortunate to be in a hiring mode so that we can hire many of these people. We feel that worldwide, the opportunities are there and network builds will continue to happen. Maybe there won't be as many players as there have been previously, but with limited number of players, the demand for highly skilled organizations like ours that can deliver services from A-Z, is high. We feel that this is going to work out to our advantage.

WR: And finally, I'm sure our audience would love to find out more about NTG Clarity Networks, Ashraf. Do you have a web address or phone number that you would like to share with them?

AZ: Yes. The web address is www.ntgclarity.com.

WR: Wonderful. Ashraf, thank you so much for joining our show today and sharing your wonderful story.

AZ: Thank you.

WR: This is Verona Colter with the Wallstreet Reporter Magazine. Today our guest has been Ashraf Zaghloul, who is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NTG Clarity Networks Inc., which is a publicly traded company on the Canadian Venture Exchange under ticker symbol NCI and headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Thanks for joining us and have a great day from Wallstreet.