ICG Netcom going VoIP,
Courtesy of DavidCG on the Ftel Thread
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Wednesday August 26, 6:59 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
ICG Netcom Rolls Out IP Telephony Service to 31 U.S. Cities
Company to Offer Residential and Small Business Customers 5.9 Cent Per Minute
Long Distance in
166 Markets by End Of 1998
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRED)--Aug. 26, 1998-- Strengthening its
role as the nation's leading integrated communications provider (ICP), ICG
Netcom today launched its Internet Protocol (IP) Long Distance service in 31 cities
around the country, offering a 5.9 cents per minute rate to customers.
ICG Netcom's launch of IP Long Distance (IPLD) service marks the first stage in a
phased rollout of the company's new IP Telephony service, which will include
166 cities by the end of 1998 -- covering approximately 90 percent of the long distance
traffic in the United States. This deployment will establish ICG Netcom as
the largest IP Telephony provider by the end of the year. Persons interested in signing
up for the service or gaining more information on IP Telephony can reach
ICG Netcom at www.icgcomm.com or www.netcom.com/offer/ipld.
''With IP Telephony, we hold the future of long distance in our hands,'' said J. Shelby
Bryan, president and CEO of ICG. ''The convergence of voice and data has
forever changed the landscape of telecommunications, both from a cost and voice
quality perspective, and ICG Netcom is leading the industry in IP Telephony. For
our customers, IP Telephony is a reality. The future is now.''
ICG's acquisition of NETCOM On-Line Communication Services (Netcom), one of the
nation's largest Internet Service Providers (ISP), has enabled it to lead the
industry in offering high-quality IP telephony and data services.
The new IP Telephony offering will enable customers to make voice and facsimile calls.
The network, which was tested in San Jose, Denver and Irvine, uses
state-of-the-art gateways developed by Cisco Systems that produce the highest quality
voice transmissions in the industry today.
How IPLD Works
Customers must have Internet access to open an account and must register any phone
or fax numbers they plan to use with the service. The account is opened with
a credit card, enabling the customer to use the service at-will with no set-up or minimum
usage fees. ICG Netcom's IP Long Distance service is priced at 5.9 cents
per minute for customers who make calls that originate and terminate on ICG Netcom's
IP network. Calls made that terminate outside of ICG's network will be
priced at 8.9 cents per minute. Customers can use the IP service to access all domestic
long distance phone and facsimile numbers. International calling capability is
planned for later this year.
Cities included in today's launch are:
Colorado -- Aurora, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver and Englewood
California -- Alameda, Berkeley, Canoga Park, Corona, Cupertino, Del Mar,
Hayward, Irvine, La Puente, Los Angeles, Oakland, Ontario, Palo Alto,
Pasadena, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa
Rosa, Sunnyvale and Thousand Oaks
Ohio Valley -- Akron, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton
ICG Netcom is a new breed of telecommunications company, known as an integrated
communications provider (ICP), offering residential and business customers
one-stop voice and data solutions, including local, long distance, high-speed Internet
and data products and services, as well as innovative technologies such as
Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL).
About ICG Netcom
ICG Netcom is the brand name for products and services from ICG Communications,
Inc. (NASDAQ:ICGX - news) and ICG's subsidiary, NETCOM On-Line
Communication Services, Inc. The combined entity is a leading integrated
communications provider (ICP) offering high-quality telecommunications services.
Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., ICG has extensive switched fiber-optic networks
and offers local, long distance and enhanced telephony and data services in
California, Colorado, the Ohio Valley and parts of the southeastern United States. The
company provides Internet communication solutions, connectivity and web
site hosting to individuals and to small- and medium-sized businesses through its
subsidiary, NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Inc., which is located on
the Web at netcom.com. ICG information can be located at
icgcomm.com.
Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco
Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks
mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
ICG Netcom
Lance Thomas, 303/414-5411 or
lance_thomas@icgcomm.com
or
Chris Fine, 303/414-5383
chris_fine@icgcomm.com
or
Steve Smith, 303/414-5350
Director of Investor Relations
investor_relations@icgcomm.com
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