U S West Dex Signs With Flycast

U S WEST Dex, the directory publishing arm of U S WEST Inc., signed a three- year deal with San Francisco-based Web ad network Flycast Communications Corp.

Flycast will provide locally targeted Web advertising solutions to business customers in U S WEST Dex’s 14-state region. Financial arrangements were not disclosed.

Flycast said it is now a local advertising channel for three major telecommunications companies, which collectively maintain operations in 30 U.S. states. The others are BellSouth and SBC.

U S WEST Dex teams with Flycast’s Local Market/VAR Division, which enables local advertisers and e-commerce businesses to reach their target audiences. The relationship follows a recently announced investment by U S WEST in Flycast’s last financing round.

“In addition to our deals with BellSouth and SBC, this alliance with U S WEST Dex positions Flycast as an industry leader in local Web advertising with what we believe to be the most telecommunications partners and the largest amount of geographic coverage,” said Peter Nicas, vice president of the Flycast Local Market/VAR Division.

Flycast said its network now reaches over 20 million people a month, or 35 percent of Web users in the U.S.