February 1, 1999

IDT Teams With Global Telecom Carriers

As part of the company's strategy to forge pacts with the world's leading telecommunications providers, IDT Corporation announced that it has signed agreements with four major European-based telecoms to establish a direct fiber-optic connection between the companies for international long distance service.

Through agreements with France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Swisscom N.A., and Telefonica, IDT will be able to provide better access and lower termination rates to a number of countries throughout Europe.

"Each of these carriers rank among the top twenty of the world's largest telecoms, and we are very excited about the opportunity to be working with such prominent and established carriers in the business," announced Jim Courter, president of IDT.

The agreement establishes direct channels between the companies' international switching points and IDT's facilities in the United States and United Kingdom. In Europe, IDT already has established a strong presence in the U.K. with its facilities-based switch, and has purchased more than 12,000 km of undersea cable connecting the U.S., Canada, and U.K. The company already has numerous operating agreements with carriers worldwide, and plans to continue the worldwide network expansion well as joint partnerships and operating agreements.

"These carriers have recognized the global expertise and capabilities that IDT can provide, and have therefore chosen to partner with one of the fastest-growing emerging multinational emerging carriers," said Geoffrey Rochwarger, IDT's senior vice president of Telecommunications. "The opportunities provided by the deregulation of the European telecom marketplace has enabled us to leap forward and capture market share in a short period of time, and we hope to continue our strategy of entering markets as they allow for deregulation."

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, Net2Fax, and Click2Talk.

Back To TMCnet's Homepage