INNOFONE LAUNCHES HOTCALLER, WORLDWIDE FREE LONG
DISTANCE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Innofone.com, Incorporated
U.S.
Christina Pagano
(1-212)684-3090
or
Innofone.com, Incorporated
Canada
Kevin Putnam
(1-416)537-1128
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CANADIAN CORPORATE
NEWS
FOR: INNOFONE.COM, INCORPORATED
OTC Bulletin Board SYMBOL: INNFE
AUGUST 18, 1999
Innofone Launches Hotcaller(TM): Free Worldwide Long
Distance Service - Pc To Phone - Via The Web
TORONTO, CANADA--Innofone.Com Incorporated (OTCBB - Symbol
INNFE)
announces the introduction of Hotcaller (TM) the world's first and
only free international long distance service using the Internet.
Hotcaller (TM), in partnership with Innofone Canada Inc., has
designed and built the first and only advertiser-sponsored free
PC-to-Phone service in the Internet world. This means it offers
advertisers the opportunity to have the consumer interact with the
commercial messages using the most sophisticated targeting
capabilities available today.
Modeled in part on free email services such as Hotmail-Mail, which
was purchased by Microsoft for approximately US$3 400 million,
Hotcaller (TM) will provide its members with the ability to call
free, to over 50 countries worldwide.
Hotcaller (TM) is the next generation in online advertising,
moving beyond simple banners to advertising in which the customer
will see, hear and interact with commercial messaging. Using the
widely accepted format for commercially supported network
television and radio; Hotcaller's revenue is to be generated
through advertising and other add-on services. Earlier this year
Innofone launched its innovative Web based long distance service
which provides PC-to-Phone and Phone-to-Phone calling via gateways
currently being set up throughout Canada.
Hotcaller (TM), has developed a proprietary service that will
allow anyone in the world with a computer, microphone and speakers
and a connection to the Internet, to call free to any person who
has a standard telephone, in any one of over 50 countries. This is
called a PC - to - PHONE call. Only the caller requires a
computer. The calling party must view and interact with a
commercial message(s) that will determine the country they can
call and the number of minutes that they can talk.
Innofone Chairman Ron Crowe said, "Hotcaller (TM) revolutionizes
the way consumers view Internet advertising. Advertisers and
marketing partners will benefit from the high degree to which
custom-tailored advertisements can be selectively targeted to
various segments of our membership base. Ads can be targeted
based
not only on geography and patterns of computer use, but also
according to such characteristics as age, gender, income, expected
major purchases in any of 20 specified categories, hobbies,
interests, family size, and/or educational attainment." This data
is obtained from the detailed "Member Profile" survey that all
members to Hotcaller's basic free long distance service are
required to complete.
Interested subscribers will go to the Hotcaller (TM) website at
www.hotcaller.com to complete the detailed questionnaire, which
allows them to specify areas of interest for commercial messages.
This allows Hotcaller (TM) to offer advertisers the most
sophisticated, precisely targeted capability on the Internet.
Members earn free long distance time in exchange for listening,
watching, and even interacting with these targeted messages.
Hotcaller (TM) free long distance calling will begin on September
15, 1999.
It has been estimated that online advertising expenditures in the
United States will increase from $551 million in 1997 to $4
billion by 2001. "We plan to capture a big piece of that market,"
said Innofone President Larry Hunt. And by being first to offer
free long distance PC-to-Phone calling to over 50 countries
worldwide, Innofone expects to break the records of other free
online services, signing on as many as 150,000 new subscribers per
day. "We believe we could easily surpass the leading provider of
free email which has over 35 million active subscribers
worldwide," Hunt said.
Hotcaller (TM) is for anyone who makes long distance calls.
Subscribers will participate in direct marketing campaigns in
exchange for free long distance calling anywhere in the world.
Hunt explained: "It is anticipated that students away at college
will gravitate to the service first, but Hotcaller (TM) has many,
many applications. For example, businesses could sponsor free
long distance calling for their own customer base."
"Clearly, Hotcaller (TM) offers Innofone an enormous new channel
for revenue generation," Hunt concluded. "Our plan is to spin
Hotcaller (TM) out as a separate business. Innofone will continue
to hold a majority interest in the new business and at the same
time we will provide the telephony service for Hotcaller (TM). We
are all enormously excited about the many options this opens up
for us."
About Innofone:
Innofone markets traditional long distance telephone services to
residential, small and medium sized businesses and the small
office/home office (SOHO) market, offering its Guaranteed Lowest
Rate Calling program GLR(TM). Innofone offers state-of-the-art
voice, VOIP, fax and data services over its Fully Integrated
Worldwide Network facilities, the company also offers wholesale
ITSP services to other Canadian and US Telecommunications
companies. Innofone's product line includes a portfolio of
state-of-the-art "virtual office" products geared to the growing
business/home office market which allows commercial users to
consolidate voice and data into a single network with substantial
savings. For additional information visit Innofone's World Wide
Web Site at innofone.com
Safe Harbor Statement: Assertions in this news release which look
forward in time involve risks and uncertainties, including the
risks associated with the effect of changing economic conditions,
trends in the development of the Internet as a commercial medium
and carrier of telephony traffic, market acceptance risks,
technological development risks and other risk factors. |
