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To: Errick who wrote (17192)	5/13/1999 4:51:00 PM
From: david simns	Respond to of 22810

I just received this e-mail thought I would pass it on. Subject: [Fwd: MetroPlus] Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 10:27:38 -0700 From: David DiRicco <davidjdiricco@worldnet.att.net> To: David Di Ricco <davidjdiricco@worldnet.att.net>, Glen Dobson <gdobber1@aol.com> Subject: MetroPlus Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 09:42:19 PDT From: "Mark Jensen" <mjensen80@hotmail.com> To: davidjdiricco@worldnet.att.net May 13, 1999 Dave – We continue to get excellent questions from your shareholders. I will endeavor to answer them as clearly and accurately as possible. How well will this service be accepted by the business community? My belief is the business community is driving Internet Telephony. Many companies are putting in their own systems (usually at an inflated cost). All businesses are looking to improve their communications and save more money. MetroPlus is using flat rate Internet Telephony calling as a base line product on which to build. Our marketing plan includes direct marketing to the business community. How will we provide a better service? I take this question to mean how will we be competitive in the market. I can tell you one thing for sure. Everyone who is basing their business on being the lowest cost provider in the market is going to have problems. Our program is not based on having to be the lowest cost per minute provider. We are building relationships with consumers and businesses and educating them about telecommunications options. Our plan is based on adoption rates. Adoption is the process of integrating new technology into your life. While a small part of the population is hearing about Internet Telephony the bulk of the population is still trying to figure out long distance savings plans. Why, half the world has yet to make a single phone call! Maybe that's why Gates is investing so heavily in wireless in third world countries. We provide a better service because we focus on customer integration of technology instead of flogging the lowest price long distance savings plan. We actually calculate true customer value and treat the customer accordingly. Are we building our own gateways or using someone else's? We are doing both. The number of companies building gateways is exploding. I don't see the need to spend millions of dollars duplicating the same technology. We are building our first gateway in Vancouver. We will tie into other networks accordingly. Our philosophy is, “create, manage and build a solid customer base by providing the best value and building relationships.” We are currently in negotiations with different providers to expand the calling area. We are very excited about the possibilities. Are we using client devices? At the current time we are not using any devices. The service runs from the phone line. However, in saying that, I need to clarify that we are exploring the possibility of using other types of services as well. We call it the “product continuum.” Some products are good for some people and not for others. As we build from our 5,000 customers we will be testing other services and products we may be able to sell. It all has to fit cohesively into our program. Are we providing billing detail or are we a pre-paid service? We are using a billing platform. We are converting every over to pre-authorized payment. The goal is to build a customer base and provide the least opportunity for negative buying decisions. Pre-authorized payment does just that. We will be offering pre-paid phone cards as part of the service. We are targeting specific groups of people in the market that are most inclined to purchase pre-paid phone cards. Do we have some type of exclusive on the equipment / technology? We have exclusive marketing technology. We do not have exclusive Internet Telephony technology. We don't want any. My feeling is we don't want to jump on the technology treadmill and try to compete for the next greatest innovation. To quote AT&T: “Data, voice, video and audio will be on the same line, or multiple lines – with the customer unconcerned about just how that is achieved.” Our exclusive technology is on the marketing side. We have several innovative marketing techniques we are deploying: 1. Adoption - our marketing plans are based on the rate of adoption of innovation within our target markets. We aggressively market but we are more effective and efficient than the competition. 2. Stages of Change – consumers adopt technology in stages. We categorize the stage and take the appropriate marketing steps. We want to encourage but not badger the customer into buying our services. We create awareness and focus on integration. 3. Customer Involvement – we know that 20% of the people have to potential to be very involved in our company. Approximately 60% will be moderately involved and 20% will brand switch whenever it is convenient for them. We always strive to build involvement in the customer base. 4. Community Development Marketing – Our most innovative marketing tool is called Community Development Marketing. Via the Internet and the telephone, we segment a community in which we have an operating license. Based on our own formula we market according to the community, as it is laid out, not as how we want it to be. The key is to integrate with the community and not force our message into the market. It is quite exciting and enormously effective. Our marketing costs are generally 5% to 10% lower than traditional marketing. And everything is systematized and measurable.