Summit Communications
files bankruptcy

The local telecommunications
company has debts between
$1 million and $10 million

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By Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.com

Summit Communications, a local company that provides telecommunications services for clients including Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday.

Summit, founded in 1996, listed debts of between $1 million and $10 million, estimated assets of between $1 million and $10 million and between 50 and 99 creditors on its bankruptcy filing.

Telecommunications services provided by Summit include alternative local and long-distance telephone services to multi-tenant buildings and call center services.

Company president Grant Johnston said the company does not plan to lay off any of its 40 employees. Summit reduced its staff by about 20 percent in June 2000. Management and administration staff also took a 20 percent pay cut, he said.

"Now the plan is to get some temporary relief from creditors to re-group and get back on track," he said.

With approximately $3 million in annual revenues, Johnston said the company had been growing. But economic ups and downs in the telecom industry, the fallout from Sept. 11 and difficulty getting vendor financing hurt the company.

A planned alliance with NTT Communications of Japan to integrate an Internet voice-technology system and access to NTT call centers in Japan that provide information to Japanese travelers inquiring about Hawaii, fell apart in the first quarter of 2001 when NTT underwent re-organization.

"It was a substantial project, they abruptly canceled it and restructured," Johnston said. "It had a substantial impact on our financial situation because we had staffed up and expanded and then got stuck."

Summit's contract with the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau is worth between $30,000 and $50,000 per month, depending on the bureau's marketing activities and the volume of calls handled by Summit, said Barbara Okamoto, HVCB's vice president of customer trends and communications.

Okamoto said the Bureau plans to retain its contract with Summit.

"Summit has kept HVCB informed of their re-structuring plans," she said.

Okamoto said Summit assured the bureau that it intends to continue to provide uninterrupted service for HVCB's toll-free number as well as respond to visitor e-mail inquiries.