Thursday November 6 3:54 PM EST
Company Press Release
America Online, JFAX.COM Announce Multi-Year, Multi-Million Dollar Unified Messaging Deal
DULLES, Va. and LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 1997--
JFAX.COM To Be Promoted As AOL's Exclusive
Unified Messaging Service
AOL Networks, the Internet online services division of America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL), and JFAX.COM (JFAX Communications Inc.), creator of a premier unified
messaging service commonly known as JFAX, Thursday announced a three-year marketing agreement under which JFAX.COM will be promoted as the exclusive
unified messaging service on the world's largest online service, providing members with easy access to faxes and voice mail through their AOL e-mail accounts.
Under the agreement, JFAX.COM has guaranteed AOL $16 million against future revenue sharing, paid in the form of advances over the term of the agreement. In
addition, JFAX.COM has provided AOL with warrants to purchase 15% of the company, with 5% vesting upon signing and the vesting of the balance based on the
acquisition of future JFAX subscribers through AOL.
JFAX will provide AOL members with the choice of personal, local telephone numbers in 48 cities and area codes in the U.S. and around the world. This allows people
to send faxes and deliver voice messages via the Internet to their AOL e- mail accounts. Users can receive their personal JFAX numbers within 10 minutes of signing
up for the service.
The service, which will be promoted on AOL beginning in early 1998, costs $12.50 a month for up to 200 messages and has a $15 initial registration fee.
JFAX is designed for organizations and individuals that want the convenience of one source for all incoming and outgoing messages whether electronic, print or voice.
Faxes can be viewed on screen, printed or forwarded to other fax machines or e-mail users. Voice messages are received as digital files, playable using the computer's
audio capabilities.
The arrangement calls for JFAX.COM to develop a customized Website for AOL members that will receive prominent placement in AOL's new Workplace,
Computing, International and Travel Channels and on the AOL mail screen. JFAX also will be available on the AOL.com Website, the most visited site on the Web.
Robert W. Pittman, president and chief executive officer of AOL Networks, said, ''We are delighted to be able to partner with JFAX.COM to offer this breakthrough
service to AOL members.
''Though we are known as a consumer service, AOL is also becoming an indispensable tool to many small businesspeople and professionals, to whom JFAX.COM's
unique Internet-based service will provide the global reach of larger competitors.
''We are especially delighted that this agreement provides the opportunity to expand our relationship with this cutting-edge company and participate in its growth.''
Jaye Muller, president of JFAX.COM, said, ''E-mail has become a very personal and integral part of most people's lives. Because it offers reliable, integrated one-stop
messaging, JFAX represents a major lifestyle enhancement for people who depend on e-mail.
''The agreement between JFAX.COM and AOL improves the changing communications environment as people's lives become more complex and global.''
America Online Inc., based in Dulles, Va., is the world's leading Internet online service, with more than nine million members worldwide.
AOL, founded in 1985, offers its subscribers a wide variety of interactive services including electronic mail, Instant Message T features, entertainment, reference,
financial information, computing support, interactive magazines and newspapers, as well as easy access to all the services of the Internet.
JFAX.COM, located in Los Angeles, Calif., was founded based on the idea of providing users with a ''universal in-box'' that would combine a reliable, low-cost means
of getting faxes and voice-mail with the ability to maintain inexpensive call centers in multiple cities.
Founded at the end of 1995, by the end of 1996 JFAX.COM had expanded to 15 cities, and today JFAX is available in over 45 cities and area codes around the world.
Contact:
AOL Networks
Wendy Goldberg, 703/265-2359
or
Rogers & Cowan
Matthew J. Basta, 310/201-8857
mbasta@shandwick.com or
John Rafacz, 310/201-8845 |
