Rick,
What do you think about this agreement between Yahoo! and IDT?
It's a relatively simple service to implement for them, it would seem to me, given what is in place already by both providers, but it has marketing punch. And that's what it's all about, no doubt, marketing punch.
Frank
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Wednesday March 25, 8:30 am Eastern Time
Yahoo! & IDT Join Forces to Bring Internet Phone Services
Worldwide
SANTA CLARA, Calif. & HACKENSACK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
March 25, 1998--
New Service Saves Yahoo! Users Time and Money on National and
International Calls
Finding and contacting relatives and friends just got easier. Today, Yahoo! Inc. and IDT Corp. announced that Yahoo! People Search (www.yahoo.com/search/people), Yahoo!(R)'s white pages directory service, is providing users the ability to call any phone number around the world from their computer through IDT's Net2Phone service. Now, users looking up phone numbers on Yahoo! People Search can conveniently phone other individuals through the Internet and save up to 95% on long-distance phone calls.
''Yahoo! continues to bring together the best communication resources for our users to easily find and connect with each other,'' said Jeff Mallett, chief operating officer at Yahoo!. ''Combining People Search with Net2Phone helps us bring together more people in a way that hasn't been done before.''
''We are proud to be supplying Internet telephony solutions for Yahoo!'s millions of daily users,'' said IDT's Net2Phone President, Cliff Sobel . ''This agreement enables the best-branded Internet guide and Internet-based long distance service to combine their strengths and bring top quality services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Now many more people can take advantage of the power of the Internet to find people, connect with them and save money on long distance phone calls in the process.''
Net2Phone enables Internet users to place calls to any telephone in the world via the Internet, transforming computers into full service communication devices, at reduced rates. According to BT Alex Brown, the deregulation of the $600 billion global telecom market and the coming collision between the Internet and telephony, is estimated to result in a billion-dollar Internet telephony market by 2002.
Find a Number, Make a Call
To make phone calls using the new service, users need simply to download and install the free Net2Phone software available at Yahoo! People Search and have a microphone and speakers for their computer. The Net2Phone service is seamlessly integrated into Yahoo! People Search, allowing individuals to find a person's phone number in the white pages directory and then automatically call that person by clicking on the phone number. Recipients on the other end of the call do not need to be online to receive Net2Phone calls. They can answer their telephone just like they would a regular phone call. Because the calls are placed through the Internet directly, phone rates are not based on the country of origin, but on the low-cost pricing structure set by IDT for the number being called. This results in cheaper long-distance phone calls both nationally and internationally for users of the Net2Phone service.
In addition to the phone number click-to-dial program within Yahoo! People Search, Net2Phone is being promoted and made available within relevant areas of the Yahoo! network of properties, including Yahoo!'s world sites.
About IDT
IDT Corp. (NASDAQ:IDTC - news) is a leading emerging multinational carrier that combines its position as an international telecommunications operator, its experience as an Internet service provider and its leading position in Internet telephony to provide a broad range of telecommunications services to its wholesale and retail customers worldwide. The company provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance, Internet access and, through its Net2Phone product offerings, Internet telephony services including Net2Phone direct and Net2Fax.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO - news) is a global Internet media company that offers a network of branded Web programming that serves millions of users daily. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the single largest guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach, and is one of the most recognized brands associated with the Internet. Yahoo! Inc. provides targeted Internet resources and communications services for a broad range of audiences, based on demographic, key-subject and geographic interests. Yahoo! is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.
Except for historical information, all of the expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, the competitive environment for Internet telephony, changes of rates of all related telco rates and services, legislation that may affect the Internet Telephony industry, IDT's ability to operate the services described on a large scale |
