PAGOO LAUNCHES COMPREHENSIVE INTERNET PHONE SERVICE.(Company Business and Marketing)

Pagoo, San Francisco, the first real Internet phone company, has launched the Pagoo Internet Phone Number, a service that gives consumers a real phone number and allows them, for the first time, to use their PCs to receive calls directly from any phone in the world and talk live while online. Pagoo's service also allows customers to make calls while online, and includes voicemail, Caller ID, and call forwarding, which forwards customers' calls while they're offline to any designated phone number. With this new service, available today throughout the U.S., Pagoo aims to add simplicity and convenience to users' lives by giving them the last phone number they'll ever need.

"Say hello to a new and better means of communication," said John "Joc" Jacquay, CEO of Pagoo. "Because of Pagoo, consumers for the first time will be able to dictate how, when and where they are able to speak with friends, family and business associates, as well as manage, in real-time, communications billing and service preferences. We see this empowerment of the consumer as a revolutionary shift from big business-as-usual to business with the end user in mind."

Since 1997, Pagoo, a privately held company, has been best known for Pagoo Call Catcher, an Internet-based voicemail service that works with a customer's existing home phone number to ensure that they never miss a call while online. To date, over 1 million customers have signed up for Call Catcher.

Pagoo Internet Phone Number Puts the Consumer in Charge

The Pagoo Internet Phone Number offers consumers their first chance to get comprehensive telephone services over the Internet based on personal requirements and preferences, all at low or no cost. According to Jacquay, this new service demonstrates the company's continued commitment to providing superior communications offerings that integrate the functionality of the phone with the power of the Internet.

"Internet phone services must seamlessly integrate voice with the Web," said Dana Thorat, senior analyst with IDC. "A solution that provides a comprehensive suite of services provides consumers a compelling value proposition -- greater control over their messaging and call handling along with real-time communications management."

From Pagoo's Web site, www.pagoo.com, customers sign up for a free Pagoo Internet Phone Number and easily download and install the Pagoo software with a single click. The Pagoo Internet phone services allows customers to:

-- Receive phone calls from anyone in the world at any time while online.

-- Make phone calls to any number in the U.S.

-- Screen calls using free Caller ID. Decide whether to accept an incoming call immediately and talk over the Internet, or send it to Pagoo voicemail.

-- Enjoy the convenience of integrated voicemail whether online or away from the computer. Using Pagoo as their primary communications number, consumers no longer need a separate answering machine, answering service or telephone company-issued voicemail system.

-- Use call forwarding, a feature that allows consumers to program their Pagoo Internet Phone Number to forward to any U.S. phone number.

-- Manage their accounts online from a personal Web page.

-- Use enhanced voicemail that will allow customers to check messages by phone or on the Web. Enhanced voicemail will also include message notification via pager, email or ICQ.

-- Use enhanced online account management that allows customers to access real-time billing information and to add and update services with point-and-click ease.

-- Employ the Pagoo-to-Pagoo feature that will allow customers to be able to call one another from their Pagoo Phones free of charge from anywhere in the world. With this feature, Pagoo users will be able to check if their Pagoo "buddies" are online and reach them directly.

-- Set up point and click conference calls with other Pagoo users.

-- Make calls internationally.

The Pagoo Internet Phone Number is currently available as a preview release from www.pagoo.com. It includes the following features: make calls, receive calls, Caller ID, voicemail, call forwarding, and My Pagoo account management. For the duration of the preview release period, all these services will be available free of charge. Pricing for the Pagoo service will be announced later this year, and is expected to be a low, flat monthly rate for unlimited usage. Additional services, including enhanced voicemail, enhanced account management, Pagoo-to-Pagoo calling, conference calling and international calling will be available in Fall 2000.

Pagoo Technology Unveils a New Era in Internet Phone Communications

The cornerstone of Pagoo services is the Pagoo Trident Voice over Internet-Protocol (VoIP) architecture. Running on top of Cisco's industry-leading voice gateways and built with Microsoft components, Trident is an open standard VoIP architecture. Pagoo is a Cisco Powered Network, and Pagoo's Internet phone service, built around the Trident architecture, is interoperable with the NetCentrex platform and compatible with other Cisco-based VoIP networks. The Trident architecture, named for the convergence of three distinct technology components, unifies the activities of an IP gatekeeper and a VoIP network, which carry voice traffic and signaling information, the Pagoo Phone software, where customers manage their communications, and the Web, where customers set their calling preferences and select their service features. Trident enables the receipt of inbound calls to a Pagoo number from any regular telephone and the completion of the call to a customer over the Internet.

In April, the company announced a partnership with NetCentrex. The NetCentrex platform and hosting service, based on the Intelligent Network architecture model, provides the Pagoo Trident VoIP architecture with call signaling information from the VoIP network. This relationship offers Pagoo's retail customers the highest quality voice experience possible.

"We've built the technology that fills a critical gap in the VoIP space and allows our customers to make and receive calls over the Internet. And offering a Pagoo Internet Phone Number, the last telephone number they'll ever need, is only the beginning," said Sylvain Dufour, co-founder and CTO of Pagoo. "Our technology is built with quality and flexibility in mind, and will allow us to deploy many new services for both consumers and business partners."

Pagoo's Application Service Provider (ASP) Model Adds Value to Partners' and Carriers' Businesses

Pagoo also offers its suite of services to carriers and business partners. Partnerships range from distribution agreements, where Pagoo maintains the service and platform, to full integration arrangements in which partners host the service platform and customize the Pagoo client software. Pagoo's services allow carriers, such as DSL and cable modem providers, to quickly offer value-added "voice over broadband" services to their customers, without investing in building expensive proprietary infrastructure.

"We've developed the technology, saving our partners the need to do so. It allows them to leapfrog their competition and focus instead on how they want to market their service. Further, our service allows partners to deliver enhanced Internet voice services directly to their end users almost immediately," said Romain Gonthier, VP, business development of Pagoo. "In turn, Pagoo gains a new audience with which to share its Internet communications services. As new components of our services are developed, Pagoo business partners will be the `first on the block' to have access to the latest in online communications solutions."

About Pagoo

Based in San Francisco, Calif., Pagoo is the world's first real Internet phone company because it offers a full range of IP-based inbound and outbound communications services for partners and customers. The Pagoo Internet Phone Number is the first service that gives customers a real phone number, allowing them to receive calls from anywhere in the world and make calls while online. In addition, Pagoo customers may be reached by phone anywhere they are, whether they are on or offline. The company's first service, Pagoo Call Catcher, is an online voicemail service that works with a customer's home phone number to ensure that calls are never missed while the customer is online. Pagoo also offers voice on the Web solutions to key organizations including Yahoo!, AT&T WorldNet and PeoplePC. Pagoo is privately held, with company investors including Hummer Winblad and Selby Ventures.

For more information about Pagoo, visit http://www.pagoo.com or call 415-348-2400.

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