IDT's Net2Phone alliance with Excite...Effect on DGIV?
Here's the press release:
Excite and IDT's Net2Phone in Deal to Offer Internet Telephony Internationally
International Calls are Now Cheaper and Easier
HACKENSACK, N.J. and LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 1998-- Phoning home - or anywhere else in the world for that matter - has never been easier. Excite (NASDAQ:XCIT - news), the leading global Internet company, and IDT's (NASDAQ:IDTC - news) Net2Phone division, today announced a two-year agreement to bring Internet telephony to the desks of every Excite customer in the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Netherlands, Japan and Sweden.
Net2Phone enables Internet users to place calls to any telephone in the world via the Internet, transforming multimedia computers into full service communications tools. The Net2Phone icon will be seamlessly integrated through many of Excite's channels giving customers a one-click access to download the service, subscribe and then simply make calls anywhere in the world.
Recipients of the call need not be online as calls are routed directly to traditional telephones. Because calls are placed through the Internet, 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.
Excite is also planning on offering a click to dial service, by fully incorporating Net2Phone into Excite's personalized directory. Users will be able to look up a telephone number in their directory, and then automatically call that person by clicking on the phone number.
''Excite's choice of IDT is both a validation and will reinforce IDT's strong position in the international Internet telephony market. Excite has raised the competitive bar again, and it is now clear that any company that hopes to own the end user in the portal space needs to have a global Internet telephony strategy,'' said Hilary Mine, Research Analyst at Probe Research.
Evan Rudowski, Excite's Director of European Operations, says, ''This is another excellent deal for Excite because it sees the introduction of more value-added services for our consumer and business customers.''
''The Excite relationship centers Net2Phone as the global leader in the IP Telephony space,'' said Jonathan Reich, Vice President of business development at IDT. ''We believe that the product provides a significant value to Excite's international customer base.''
IDT 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, pre-paid calling cards, Internet access and, through its Net2Phone product offerings, Internet telephony services including Net2Phone Direct and Net2Fax.
Founded in 1994, Excite, Inc. is a global media company offering consumers a free online service with a simple front end to the Internet and extensive personalization capabilities, and advertisers the best one-to-one marketing services available online. The Excite Network consists of two of the largest brands on the Web, Excite and WebCrawler, and its subsidiaries; MatchLogic, Inc., Excite Japan Co., Ltd. and Excite UK, Ltd. Localized versions of Excite are available in France, Germany, the UK, The Netherlands, Sweden, Japan and Australia. Based in Redwood City, Calif., Excite, Inc. has strategic relationships with America Online, Inc., Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU - news), Netscape Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:NSCP - news), Prodigy Internet and Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB - news).
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 commercial level. For additional information regarding these and other risks associated with the company's business refer to the company's reports filed with the SEC.
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Contact:
EXCITE
Narda Shirley
Gnash Communications
+44 (0) 181 563 9446/7
narda@gnash.co.uk
or
IDT CORP., Hackensack
Sarah Hofstetter
201/928-2882
sarah@corp.idt.net |
