Net2Phone Recruits IDT to Jointly Deploy Telephony to Cable Operators
Wednesday October 29, 5:00 pm ET
Licensed IXC and CLEC to empower Net2Phone to deliver full suite of cable telephony services equivalent to primary line phone service
NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2003--
Net2Phone, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTOP - News) today announced that it has signed a binding memorandum of understanding with IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT - News) for the provision to Net2Phone Cable Telephony, LLC by IDT, directly or through one of its subsidiaries, of local and inter-exchange network access, termination, origination and other related services. In providing these services, IDT will draw on its resources as a licensed local, long distance and international telecommunications provider. IDT will support Net2Phone Cable Telephony in its sales efforts to cable operators, presenting an outsourced managed replacement telecommunications service that cable operators can sell to their subscribers.
Providing cable operators with a telecommunications service that generates primary line revenue is an essential component to Net2Phone Cable Telephony's solution. As such, Net2Phone will employ the assistance of IDT to provide many of the features that raise the level of the offering to that of replacement phone service, including but not limited to 911 service, CALEA, Operator Assisted Services, and procuring inbound telephone numbers.
As a licensed IXC and CLEC, IDT will provide Net2Phone Cable Telephony with its services at favorable rates. IDT's network includes switching facilities in over 20 US cities and additional points of presence in more than 10 countries, allowing Net2Phone to co-locate its equipment and/or interconnect with its network at any of those end-points, thereby improving the speed, stability, scalability and security of the entire solution.
In exchange for such favorable pricing, access to LEC and IXC facilities and exclusivity to market to cable operators, Net2Phone will grant IDT shares of its Class A common stock, which will vest at the rate of 1.38 million shares per year for five years, subject to certain performance standards to be met by IDT regarding the provision of such services. The total number of shares will be placed in escrow to ensure the aforementioned performance standards. A committee of independent directors approved the terms of the MOU for Net2Phone.
"Through this unique relationship with IDT, we are better positioned than anyone else in the industry to provide cable operators with an end-to-end replacement telephony service using HFC networks," said Stephen Greenberg, CEO of Net2Phone. "We have an exceptional combination of VoIP expertise, PacketCable compliance, and a cost-effective, robust telecom infrastructure with primary line qualities that can put cable operators in the telecommunications business at a low incremental cost."
Using its proprietary VoIP technology and PacketCable standards, Net2Phone Cable Telephony offers cable operators in the U.S., Europe and Latin America a complete suite of services enabling them to deliver carrier-grade residential phone service. While the cable operator maintains ownership of its customer, service brand and Tier I customer and technical support, Net2Phone supports the back office platform, switching and transport, ongoing operations and Tier II+ technical support to deliver a fully managed QoS IP solution. Net2Phone tracks and monitors voice quality and network performance metrics from start to finish and provides the cable operator with a full view into telephone calls routed over its network. Consumers benefit on two fronts: inexpensive stand alone telephony when compared against traditional phone service and savings derived from the video, data and voice triple play in cable TV, high-speed Internet access and telephone services.
About Net2Phone
Founded in 1995, Net2Phone is a leading provider of voice services over IP networks worldwide, enabling toll-quality calls between computers, telephones, and broadband devices. Recognized as the first Company to bridge the Internet with the public switched telephone network, Net2Phone has routed billions of minutes of traffic over its award-winning network. Incorporated within the company are (1) Net2Phone Global Services, which sells retail VoIP solutions globally and (2) Net2Phone Cable Telephony, which has developed a fully outsourced standards-compliant telephony solution for cable operators, using components from companies such as Arris, Motorola, Gallery iPT, Mind CTI, Nuera and CoreOS. Traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol NTOP, Net2Phone's strategic partners and investors include Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE: L; LMC.B) and IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT; IDT.C). For more information about Net2Phone's products and services, please visit www.net2phone.com. |
