[September 9, 2004]

YAK Sets Up WorldCity

BY JOHANNE TORRES

Ontario, Canada-based YAK Communications, Inc., (news – alert - quote) is the newest kid on the VoIP block. The telecom provider just released WorldCity VoIP, expected to serve both, residential and business customers.

According to Charles Zwebner, YAK’s president and CEO, "YAK has now entered the VoIP Internet telephony services arena, alongside other entrants including Vonage, Primus, 8x8, and Broadvox. With over 175 million phone lines in North America and an additional 1.4 billion phone lines worldwide, along with an anticipated 10 percent conversion rate to VoIP services during the next three years, the market opportunities are huge."

YAK’s WorldCity will offer standard Voice over IP (VoIP) (define - news - alert - tutorial) service features for both residential and business customers. For a monthly fee of $19.95, WorldCity users will be able to enjoy 1,000 minutes of calling per month to anywhere in the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, and China. Sample rates to France and Italy start at 2 cents per minute. Just as with major cell phone calling plans these days, WorldCity member-to-member calls are included as unlimited and free. YAK has future plans to release a service plan that will offer unlimited flat rate usage.

WorldCity users are allowed to select a telephone number for the VoIP service fromone of over 50 cities across Canada, the U.S., and overseas regardless of where the customer resides.

Included in the standard VoIP service features for WorldCity are:

• Call Display
• Call Forwarding
• Three-way Calling
• Teleconferencing
• Internet Enhanced Voice Mail
• Enhanced 911 , or “ E911,” (define - news - alert) services for customers who select a telephone number from one of 13 select Canadian cities so long as they reside in that particular city.

It is quite impressive that a VoIP newcomer would rapidly try to place itself within the ranks of experienced VoIP providers like Vonage and their competitors. . The company does have a robust costumer base, however, currently using its traditional telecom services. Zwebner contends that the company counts with business of at least 810,000 legacy telephone line users per month, cashing in about $20 million monthly. So, if YAK plans to do VoIP á la AT&T, they might just be headed in the right direction. It is yet to be seen if the Canadian telecom will eventually hang up on its legacy calling services.

YAK Communications Inc.:

http://www.yak.com