MW: Good Day! This is Michael Wachs with CEOCast and I'm here today with Ashraf Zaghloul. Ashraf is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NTG Clarity Networks Inc. A company that trades on the Venture Exchange under the symbol NCI, and one that is a leader in developing network, IT and infrastructure solutions to telecommunication servicers as well as large enterprises. Thanks for joining CEOCast today Ashraf.

AZ: Thank you Michael.

MW: I thought perhaps you could begin with an overview of the company and then we will get into these opportunities in greater detail.

AZ: Yes, NTG, we've been in business since 1992. We specialize in network and network technology and telecom industry. We are probably the leading company in Canada in network services. Our vision is to be the premier network services in Canada and then in North America and then the world. We are doing that by providing quality service at very competitive prices.

MW: Ashraf, its no secret that of course the Telco sector has been hit extremely hard, how has that changed perhaps the way you run your business?

AZ: Actually if anything, things look much brighter for us and better. Two things, what has been hit much harder are hardware manufacturers, and we are not a hardware manufacturer, we provide services. And most large Telco companies, to reduce their costs, they are looking to outsource some of the services and who else is better well equipped and positioned to do this outsourcing services other than NTG. So for example a couple of months ago we signed with one of the large Telco providers here in Canada to do all their technical training. So they outsourced their technical training we took their people. So this helps us improve, increase our revenue, improve our services so if anything the downturn is turning out to be very positive for us.

MW: As you look at the opportunities now, lets start with the telecom service providers. What size companies are you targeting and how have they contributed to what has been a 1600% growth in revenues over the last four years?

AZ: Well, obviously a couple of years ago our target was the CLECs but more or less that business has disappeared, the CLEC business. But our target today is all large telecom providers in North America. But also, large enterprises, because large enterprises have large networks that require to be managed, built, designed so they are our target customers to. Another thing to mention is, that even though the CLEC business is disappearing there is a new breed of companies, which are the hydro companies that are providing telecom services and they require our services to. So for example, here in Canada, Hydro One and Toronto Hydro are our customers and we feel they are replacing that business that is from the CLEC side.

MW: Of course the other market that you serve is the large enterprise. As you look at the services that you provide to the large enterprise how might they be different, Ashraf, from the telecom providers?

AZ: Well, the target market is different and a different point of view of how they see the problem but the basic skill level is the same. They need strong network expertise that we can provide. It is quite different sales and marketing but the end product is the same and we are best suited to provide that.

MW: Given the opportunities in today's environment, what is the sales cycle like?

AZ: The sales cycle, usually people say the sales cycle is 6 months but what we are targeting for is within 3 months. We've got good reputation, good name, and also because of the competitive nature of the market today, time to market is key for our customers. That's why they come to us, so the sales cycle we are finding is shorter because the customer knows what they want, they want to get out to the market quickly to be more competitive and they know NTG is the right company to deliver on time and on budget.

MW: What about strategic partners. What role are they playing?

AZ: Actually, more and more, that is being more important for us. We are trying to build strategic partnership with the large manufacturers so we are talking to organizations like Lucent, like Zone in the US, like Tyco. So we are trying to work with all these organizations that we will become strategic partners with them, where we help with implementing the technology.

MW: Ashraf, how do you differentiate yourself from what has become an increasingly crowded field?

AZ: How we differentiate ourselves is a couple of things. First of all, the top quality professionals we have, our networking genius has been in the business and they understand the business and they have run this kind of business before themselves. So when they walk into the customer they know exactly what to do. The other thing is, it might seem competitive but what we have seen with the downturn, some of the players have disappeared. Also, our brand name is becoming known, everybody recognizes the NTG name, so people are coming to us to ask for our services. So it's the quality, competitive price, but also the name recognition out there.

MW: Given the opportunities going forward, what is the sales cycle like, particularly on some of these large sales to Telco's or to the enterprise?

AZ: Usually before, the sales cycle used to be 6 months to a year. But in the competitive world where time to market is key we are finding that within 3 months the customer knows what they want and they are ready to close and they want to get quickly, time to market to be competitive. So we are finding 3 months, which works out very good for us.

MW: What about some of the new services now that might capitalize on the convergence that is going on, what are some of the areas you are providing?

AZ: We are finding for us some of the growing areas are installation and commissioning of equipment. The other growing area for us is products, we have just acquired the world wide rights for the ISM product integrated service manager from Co-Manage, which is a provisioning system that helps reduce the provisioning cycle from days into less than an hour. So this is a really successful product for us. This product complements our own NTS system and our own VNS system. So we see this help position us and open more doors for us.

MW: Now what about your office structure, you have most of your offices in Canada with offices both in Chicago and Cairo. Where are the growth opportunities coming from Ashraf, are they within the US, are they Canadian based, or perhaps Middle East orientated?

AZ: What we are finding is, is there are more opportunities starting to open up in the US. We see that the US will be key for us in 2002. But more importantly is worldwide, especially in the Middle East where there is still a lot of building of infrastructure and a high demand for services. So we see the Middle East is going to be another big market for us and we are well positioned there with an office in Cairo, with the right contacts, the right expertise, we think it will be a big growth area for us.

MW: What about the revenues, you reported for your three months, ended Sept 30, approximately $3.3M of revenue for the quarter. Where do you see the big opportunities in the coming quarters Ashraf, and what's the path to profitability?

AZ: Two areas, we see current growth in the current services we are providing, so that's natural, organic growth. Also in the product area, we see that growing to and we see large revenue coming from that area. So adding the organic growth we have plus the products, plus we are constantly looking for acquisitions. That's another area where we feel would strengthen NTG and expand our customer base and experience. So between the three of them, we feel within the next quarter we will be able to substantially increase our revenue.

MW: What about some of the key milestones now, what should investors look for?

AZ: The milestones, we've achieved $14.5, around fourteen and half million dollars last year and we are targeting for $25M by the end of this year. That is one of the milestones, the other one is acquisitions where bringing in a few more acquisitions that help complement our services and strengthen it, we feel that would put us on the right track and achieve our goals of both increased revenue and increased profits.

MW: I've been speaking today with Ashraf Zaghloul; Ashraf is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NTG Clarity Networks. A company that trades on the Venture Exchange under the symbol NCI and one that recently received recognition from Alberta Venture Magazine as it was named the 4th fastest growing company. Thanks for joining CEO Cast today Ashraf.

AZ: Thank you.

MW: This has been Michael Wachs for CEO Cast, where Wall Street Listens.