ICG Communications, ThinkLink to Offer America Integrated Messaging and Five Cent Per Minute Calling

Business Wire, Sept 13, 1999

SAN FRANCISCO-(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 1999--ICG Communications (Nasdaq:ICGX), the country's oldest and largest Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC), and ThinkLink Corporation, an Internet start-up and Enhanced Service Provider, announced Monday that ThinkLink's web-based integrated messaging service will use ICG's national Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network for all phone calling services.

The partnership will provide ThinkLink with the highest standard of phone-to-phone communications services in the Unified Messaging service category.

"ICG is in the business of building local access communications networks and was the only CLEC with the vision to deploy VoIP nationally. ThinkLink is in the message management business. This agreement allows both corporations to focus on what they do best. It further ensures that all ThinkLink customers will have access to a free communications platform where they manage all their messages in one place -- voicemail, email and faxing services -- and they will be able to make a five cent a minute long distance call, anytime, anywhere," said David Ward, ThinkLink president and Chief Executive Officer.

By teaming up with ICG, ThinkLink has gained virtual Points of Presence (POPs) overnight in more than 200 markets nationwide, further ensuring that ThinkLink will be able to provide both a free personal local number and a free 800 number to each new ThinkLink customer. Neither of these numbers will require a PIN number, making ThinkLink both the most personal and the easiest to use integrated messaging service.

Presently, ThinkLink is running a market test offering free service in four consumer markets: the San Francisco Bay Area, Riverside and Los Angeles, Calif., and Tucson, Ariz. The ThinkLink product includes free local and 800 numbers, free voicemail, email, faxing and paging.

For customers outside those areas, ThinkLink is offering 800 service, which includes an 800 number, voicemail, email, and fax, for a cost of $4.95 a month with 100 free minutes of inbound calling each month. The same ThinkLink number can be used to send or retrieve messages. Subscribers sign up on the web at www.thinklink.com.

ThinkLink customers can check their voicemail, email or fax messages over any phone by calling their ThinkLink numbers or by logging into their personal password protected web site, allowing subscribers to hear their email messages over the phone or their voicemail messages over the internet.

"Partnering with ThinkLink is another opportunity for ICG to leverage its investment in Voice over Internet Protocol," said John Kane, ICG's president and Chief Operating Officer. "This relationship will allow ICG to participate in the emerging enhanced messaging market, which is expected to grow significantly in the future."

ICG and ThinkLink will offer residential long distance rates of five cents per minute, anytime, anywhere -- the lowest non-subscription rate available today.

Voice over Internet Protocol is the current configuration transmitting voice communications over the Internet. In order to maximize the quality of the user experience, ThinkLink and ICG partner to carry voice messages and real time voice communications through ICG's high quality private network, rather than utilizing the public Internet domain.

Ward cited the ICG agreement as a milestone for the company.

"This partnership catapults ThinkLink into the spotlight of the Integrated Messaging category. ICG's established network will allow 90 percent of U.S. residents to utilize free ThinkLink service as soon as we flip the switch. We look forward to the success both ThinkLink and ICG will garner from this relationship," said Ward.

ThinkLink and ICG plan to launch their national service late this year.

About ICG Communications

With headquarters in Englewood, Colo., ICG Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:ICGX) is a competitive telecommunications provider of high-quality, integrated communications solutions. ICG offers local, long distance and enhanced telephony, and data communications to small- and medium-sized businesses in California, Colorado, Ohio, Texas, and the southeastern United States.

The company also provides high-speed data network capabilities and services to Internet service providers throughout the United States, using ICG's nationwide network. For further information on ICG, visit the company's Web site at http://www.icgcom.com.

About ThinkLink

ThinkLink was named one of the 200 Red Hot Communications start-ups by Telecommunications Reports, Inc. ThinkLink is an Enhanced Service Provider (ESP), offering a bundled suite of IP-based messaging and voice services under the ThinkLink brand as well as on a co-branded and private label basis.

The ThinkLink product is a web-based integrated communications service that simplifies users' ability to send and receive voicemail, faxes and email. The free product includes a personal local phone number in addition to a personal 800 number, free voicemail, email, fax and paging as well as integrated outbound dialing. Please visit the web site at http://www.thinklink.com.