[April 7, 2005]

America Online Intros Internet Phone Service

BY JOHANNE TORRES

Its official: America Online, Inc. made a much anticipated announcement this morning about its brand spanking new Internet telephony service, an enhanced VoIP-based calling service that combines voice, e-mail and instant messaging communications. The new offering will be available starting today, in more than 40 markets across the U.S., the first phase of a nationwide rollout that will continue to additional cities over the coming months.

"The AOL Internet Phone Service will uniquely combine advanced tools, competitive pricing plans and AOL's hallmark ease of use to allow mass-market consumers to take full advantage of the revolution underway in Internet voice technology. Our enhanced suite of features will provide not only cost savings, but also the opportunity to organize, access and direct the full range of online and offline communications, including voice, e-mail, instant messaging and phone/address book, with one convenient service," said Jon Miller, chairman and CEO, America Online, Inc.

With this launch, the ISP giant is offering its new AOL customers a special introductory package rate of $29.99 monthly for the first six months for the AOL Internet Phone Service and the AOL service. This offer includes unlimited local and long distance calling within the U.S. and Canada plus unlimited access to the AOL service over a broadband connection. At the end of six months, the price of the package will be $39.99.

For the AOL Internet Phone Service alone, current AOL members can choose from three price plans with introductory offer rates: the Local Plan: $13.99 monthly for the first three months for unlimited local and regional calls and $0.04 per minute for long distance calls anywhere in the U.S. and Canada ($18.99 per month thereafter); the Unlimited Calling Plan: $24.99 monthly for the first three months for one flat fee for local and long distance calls within the U.S. and Canada ($29.99 per month thereafter); and the Global Calling Plan: $29.99 monthly for the first three months, including unlimited local and long distance calls within the U.S. and Canada and low international rates ($34.99 per month thereafter).

As a limited time offer in conjunction with the first phase of the rollout of the new service, the company will give its current AOL members who sign up a free wireless home network base station.

None of the AOL Internet Phone Service price plans requires an activation fee, and the entire suite of AOL Internet Phone Service features - including the Dashboard, AOL Call Alert, AOL Voicemail and the AOLbyPhone service - is included at no additional cost.

The company says that what sets the AOL Internet Phone Service apart is its suite of features many of which are not currently available with other telephone services, including unified voice, e-mail and instant messaging, enhanced voicemail and call management capabilities, online presence awareness, and more.

The new service was designed by the company to be compatible with most existing home networks and capable of enabling a home network if consumers don't already have one. Additional enhancements and upgrades will be introduced in the months to come. The service is simple to get up and running in just a few steps, says AOL. After registration, customers will receive a Welcome Kit that includes an easy-to-connect telephone terminal adapter/broadband router, into which they plug an ordinary touchtone telephone and their cable or digital subscriber line (DSL) modem. To place and receive calls, a user just picks up the adapter-connected telephone and dials numbers as he or she normally would.

AOL says it’s even got E911 covered. The company will offer E911 calling coverage in all of the markets targeted for the initial rollout of the AOL Internet Phone Service.

America Online is also working with networking hardware manufacturers Linksys and NETGEAR, to offer devices for the AOL Internet Phone Service that combine telephone adapter and home router technologies. America Online also partnered with Level3 Communications for managed VoIP infrastructure to deliver a service with a broad footprint in the markets targeted, as well as Enhanced 911 (E-911) capability and Local Number Portability. It also tapped Sonus Networks for its VoIP technology that integrates with AOL's rich feature set to change the very nature of voice calls and make them a pathway not just for conversations, but also for a wide range of next-generation interactive applications.

The service is being introduced to consumers in numerous markets beginning today, including: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Colorado Springs, CO; Columbus, OH; Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX; Denver, CO; Detroit,MI; Ft. Myers, FL; Hartford-New Haven, CT; Houston, TX; Indianapolis, IN; Kansas City, KS; Lafayette, IN; Laredo, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; Milwaukee, WI; Nashville, TN; New York, NY; Norfolk, VA; Orlando, FL; Philadelphia, PA; Phoenix, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; Providence, RI; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Salt Lake City, UT; San Antonio, TX; San Diego, CA; San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA; Seattle-Tacoma, WA; St. Louis, MO; Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL; Tucson, AZ; Washington DC; and West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL.

Over the coming months, the AOL Internet Phone Service will progress to additional cities across the United States.

James Tobin, VP, Voice Strategy for America Online, Inc., said, "AOL sees integrated voice and data features as a natural extension of our leadership in Internet communications - and the voice, e-mail and instant messaging services the company already offers. With a network of millions of connected users, industry-leading partners, and a brand name associated with trust and quality, AOL is well positioned and has the technology to offer consumers a differentiated and enhanced VoIP experience - one that's focused on ease-of-use, quality, reliability and 24-hour/7-day a week customer care."

America Online, Inc.
www.aol.com