Franklin Telecom Names Steve Lee Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Development; Transaction Services Industry Veteran to Oversee Expansion of Franklin's VoIP Business

Cambridge Telcom Report, Jan 10, 2000

Franklin Telecom announced Monday that veteran e-business marketing and strategy consultant Steve Lee has been named Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development for Franklin Telecom.

Lee brings a rich background of brand development, product innovation and intensive growth marketing in transactions and technology-based businesses.

Since 1992, he has been Managing Partner of Steve Lee & Associates, an e-commerce, technology and financial services consulting firm specializing in strategic alliance formation, global expansion strategies and marketing - with offices in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. Prior to this, he was a Senior Manager in the Wall Street practice of Big-5 accounting and consulting firm Deloitte & Touche. He also served as an EVP in both the investment banking and call center units of Japanese conglomerate Temporary Center. Lee held investment banking and capital management positions in New York, Connecticut and London with Scientific Capital Management and MacMillan.

Frank Peters, Franklin's CEO said, "Steve brings direct experience from e-commerce firms including Microsoft, VISA, Prodigy, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Citibank, Nynex, Discover Brokerage, Bell South, EDS, American Express, CyberCash, Sprint, Wingspan.com, Vodafone and others." He formulated the launch strategy and led the marketing implementation for one of the leading online brokerages (Discover). He also generated very substantial revenues for an international joint-venture call center operation by developing marketing alliances among Northern Telecom, NTT, Sumitomo Bank and Fujitsu to deliver card-based long distance services. Lee led the strategic alliance and co-marketing program for a major financial services firm generating millions of new accounts and almost half a billion dollars in revenue. He authored Microsoft's competitive response to Lotus Notes and developed the marketing strategy to exploit the firm's success in selling application suites.

Lee was educated at the London School of Economics. He holds a BS in Economic/Physics, a MBA and a MA in International Economics.

Frank Peters, Chairman and CEO of Franklin Telecom welcomed Lee's addition to FCM leadership: "We are delighted to have attracted a technology and transactions marketing veteran with a substantive track record in corporate strategy, alliance building and global growth. Steve's Wall Street experience and his proven ability to integrate marketing, finance and technology disciplines will be critical as he leverages Franklin's Voice-over-the-Internet patents and technology and builds and exploits our competitive advantages."

"I'm looking forward to expanding this leading edge, VoIP equipment manufacturer and service provider's installed base, infrastructure and distribution channels," said Lee upon his appointment. "As we exploit Franklin's competitive position, consolidate its image, and capitalize on its developing brand, we also anticipate establishing FCM as the US gateway for international VoIP networks and the global Voice Portal. We're at one of the most potent crossroads of telecommunications, the Internet and convergence. The economic and market forces at work on VoIP are going to propel extraordinary changes and world class growth. FCM will be positioned to lead and profit from that expansion."

Lee is responsible for marketing, advertising, promotions and strategic planning at Franklin Telecom. He will select and manage the firm's investor relations and advertising vendors.

The primary business of Franklin Telecom is the design and manufacturing of communications devices, including hardware and software solutions that enable superior quality Voice over IP applications. Franklin's telecom subsidiary FNet provides Voice over Internet Protocol global Telco services.

For additional information about the Company, visit the Officer's Message page at Franklin's Web Site: www.ftel.com - for Internet Telephony & Franklin's Next Generation Telephone Equipment. www.fnet.net - for Internet Telephony Next Generation Telephone Service. www.franklin.net - for Internet Services, E-Commerce and Access.