STAR Telecom Selects Clarent Corporation to Supply IP Telephony Technology; IP Telephony Technology Offers STAR Efficient Bandwidth Utilization on Existing Routes

Business Wire, Jan 4, 1999

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. and REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 1999--STAR Telecommunications, Inc. (Nasdaq: STRX) and Clarent Corporation today announced that STAR has selected Clarent to supply IP telephony technology for its growing global network.

"We continue to implement more efficient methods of bandwidth utilization," said Chris Edgecomb, Chairman and CEO of STAR. "We are now able to send a greater number of calls concurrently on existing terrestrial circuits, while expanding our opportunity to offer call origination to internet users from the foreign destination, pending regulatory approval. We anticipate having our first site up in Mexico during January of 1999 and five additional countries in the Pacific Rim during February. We will also implement IP telephony on our global network throughout Germany and the UK in the second quarter of 1999."

In 1995, STAR began using compression technology on most of its direct termination routes. Today, more than half of STAR's traffic is routed over its own network. Most of these routes utilize some form of compression technology. Clarent's IP telephony solutions enable STAR to compress voice more efficiently than STAR's existing packet technology, while providing a lower per-minute cost structure for traffic routed over those circuits.

"STAR Telecom is known to be a leader in the international wholesale long distance business," said Jerry Chang, President and CEO of Clarent Corporation. "STAR will continue its leadership as it implements IP telephony in the world's high volume minute markets. Clarent is looking forward to helping STAR continue its fast growth trajectory and great industry success."

About STAR Telecommunications

STAR Telecommunications is a multinational long-distance provider offering global long distance services to carriers and commercial customers throughout the world. STAR provides international long distance service through a global network of digital switching facilities and both terrestrial and undersea fiber optic cable systems. STAR Telecom holds domestic switching facilities in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Miami, and international switching facilities in London, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Munich. Visit STAR Telecom at www.startel.com.

About Clarent Corporation

Clarent Corporation is a privately held company and a premier provider of Internet telephony solutions offering clear voice, real-time fax, SS7/C7 integration, universal voice/fax/data ports and a host of other business ready capabilities. Clarent Command Center provides billing and management for a very large network of Clarent Gateways. All Clarent products are backed by a complete, robust, scalable network infrastructure, enabling network and enterprise customers to easily run their business communications on IP telephony. Founded in July of 1996, Clarent is headquartered in Redwood City, California, and also has offices in Chicago,Illinois; Taipei, Taiwan; Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, Korea; and in Europe. Additional information about Clarent is available at www.clarent.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbors created thereby. The Company's future actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements discussed herein. A list of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially can be found in the documents the Company files with the SEC, including those contained in STAR's prospectus, and the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 1998.