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First Ringbacks Service Launches In the U.S. With First Cellular of Southern Illinois and Preferred Voice
DALLAS --(Business Wire)-- Oct. 22, 2004 -- Preferred Voice, Inc. (OTCBB:PFVI):
-- Preferred Voice (PVI) and First Cellular of Southern Illinois will be the first to see the results of the tremendous potential with personalized ringbacks that are experiencing strong adoption and growth overseas
Preferred Voice, Inc. (PVI) (OTCBB:PFVI), a leading provider of personalization services, and First Cellular of Southern Illinois today announced the launch of a new personalized ringbacks service called Xtreme Ring for First Cellular's subscribers in the mid-west. This marks the first commercial availability in the U.S. for ringbacks which have the potential to be the fastest growing mobile service this year.
The market opportunity for ringbacks is substantial. It sits at the intersection of two of the most successful areas of wireless data: personalization services, which have the most penetration and mobile music, which is the fastest revenue generator. Personalization and music are especially important to the lucrative youth market, who represent the growth of the market.
Ringbacks are already experiencing tremendous success in Asia. Korea's No. 1 wireless provider, SK Telecom has achieved more than 30% penetration in just 2 years. Ringbacks are returning solid results on increasing ARPU for carriers in Asia. Korea's SK Telecom has reported an increase of $2.44 in ARPU, Taiwan's Mobitai an increase of $1.84 and FarEasTone (FET) an increase of $1.84. In addition, Mobitai reports an average of 6 downloads a month with FET at an average of 2.5 downloads a month.
"Because of Preferred Voice's managed services approach and its proven architecture, we were able to launch quickly which is a huge advantage to us. In a market that is extremely competitive, Preferred Voice enables us to be innovative, quickly launch new services with little capital outlay, and provide the best service to our subscribers ahead of the largest carriers in the U.S.," said Terry Addington, President and CEO, First Cellular of Southern Illinois.
"There has been a lot of talk about the potential of ringbacks in the U.S. and how this new personalization service can provide significant value to operators to generate revenue, increase ARPU and decrease churn while allowing subscribers to tailor their service to their unique needs. We are excited to be the first to make this a reality in the U.S. market and capitalize on the huge growth potential," said Latif Nathani, CEO of Preferred Voice.
Announced just last month, PVI's personalized ringbacks provide a network-based personalization service that enables users to choose an audio file that callers will listen to while the phone is ringing. PVI's ringback service provides First Cellular with a new way to increase average revenue per user (ARPU) and decrease churn while providing advanced customization and personalization services for its subscribers. Unlike downloadable ringtones, which reside on the handset, ringback tones reside on the network. Because ringback tones are network-based and do not reside on devices, both wireless and wireline carriers can offer this service.
First Cellular's Xtreme Ring will allow subscribers to personalize their dialing experience and entertain their callers with favorite music tracks, sound effects and self-created messages. For example, a subscriber could assign a ringback to her best friend to hear a song such as "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," while she's waiting for her to pick up or assign "Money, Money, Money" to play for her parents when they call. One will also be able to further select the tune to be heard on a particular day of the week and/or time of the day.
PVI's personalized ringbacks are a core integrated product in its mobile personalization services Suite "My Phone Services" for wireless carriers that provides a new breed of wireless applications enabling user-centric communications. In addition to ringbacks, the suite includes tightly integrated products including the Advanced Network Address Book, Network Voice Activated Dialing, Push2Connect, and SmartLine.
You can experience PVI's ringbacks product at CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment 2004 October 25-27 at booth #821.
About Preferred Voice
Based in Dallas, TX, Preferred Voice, Inc. (OTCBB:PFVI) is a leading provider of personalization services for wireless, ILEC and CLEC companies. PVI's "My Phone Services" suite includes tightly integrated products including the Advanced Network Address Book, Network Voice Activated Dialing, Push2Connect, SmartLine and Rockin' Ringback. For more information visit www.preferredvoice.com.
Except for historical information contained in this press release, statements contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is set forth in this press release, as more fully described in the Company's filings with the SEC. The Company does not intend to update any of such statements.
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