A FREAKING AWESOME FTEL PR:
Franklin Telecom Debuts Voice-Enabled Website
Choose to Schmooze Uses Real-Time Voice to Bring Customers & Businesses
Together
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 1999-- Franklin
Telecom (OTC BB: FTEL) today introduces the Franklin Voice-Enabled
Website, nicknamed ''Choose to Schmooze'' (CTS). Choose to Schmooze
bridges the Internet and public switched telephone network to add
real-time voice capability to World Wide Web Pages. Choose to Schmooze
supports regular phones, Internet phones and text chat. It also supports
Microsoft's NetMeeting client to enable full VoIP connectivity.
When a customer clicks on the Choose to Schmooze icon on a web page, CTS
initiates a call to the customer via either a switched phone or the
Internet, according to the customer's preference. As the customer
answers, CTS places a second call to the business. While this second
call is being established, the customer may be listening to a customized
business message. As the business representative answers the call, a
text chat facility is also supported to facilitate the exchange of
information.
Choose to Schmooze offers flexibility in design and presentation. For
example, businesses may create separate groups with multiple assigned
phone numbers, so that the customer can choose to speak with someone
from sales, technical support or customer service.
Businesses can answer the incoming calls using a regular phone. Multiple
phones can be enabled simultaneously, if desired, so that a
representative can be reached via the office phone, cell phone or pager.
Essentially, the business is never out of reach! The service can be
customized to limit the number or time allotment of incoming calls; area
codes may be selected or blocked, as desired, to control access. User
names and passwords may be created, to enhance security.
Available options include visual and/or audible notification of incoming
calls from browsers and incoming Caller I.D. It is also possible to view
the URL from which the call is originating or to push another URL to the
caller.
Peter Buswell, Franklin's President and COO enthused, ''Choose to
Schmooze can make anybody's business smoother, smarter and more
productive. Business owners, ISPs, Web Designers--this product is going
to have them grinning all the way to the bank. And not only is it
tremendous for business, it's downright FUN!''
The Franklin Voice-Enabled Website--Choose to Schmooze--will be
demonstrated at the CTExpo Spring '99 ctexpo.com which will
be held March 2, 3rd and 4th at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Franklin Telecom will be in Booth 3301. This is the fourth of four
product announcements that will be made prior to the show.
The primary business of Franklin Telecom, founded in 1981, is the design
and manufacturing of communications devices, high speed LAN, WAN, Telco
and software. Franklin customers have installed over 100,000 nodes
worldwide. Franklin's Internet subsidiary FNet provides Voice over
Internet Protocol global Telco services.
Certain statements in this press release constitute ''forward-looking
statements'' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different
from any future results, performance or achievements, expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements.
For additional information about this announcement, visit the
Officer's Message page at Franklin's Web Site:
www.ftel.com
www.franklin.net - for Internet Services and Access
www.fnet.net - for Internet Telephony & Franklin's Next
Generation Telephone Company
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Contact:
Franklin Telecom, Westlake Village
Helen West for Shareholder Relations, 805/373-8688
or
Debra Kent for Media Relations, 805/373-8688 |
