VocalData Continues its Expansion Globally, Adding a New International Customer: New Zealand VoIP Service Provider ihug

Business Wire, July 27, 2004

RICHARDSON, Texas -- Internet Pioneer ihug Calls VocalData Application Server the Best-Value Platform for Both Basic and Advanced Class 5 Features

VocalData, Inc., an application developer of hosted IP telephony solutions, today announced that New Zealand-based service provider ihug is using VocalData's application server to make VoIP services available to almost a million individuals residing in the Auckland, Hamilton and Pukekohe areas of New Zealand.

ihug is offering the first real alternative to incumbent telecom services in Auckland, New Zealand's largest residential market. The service provider estimates that its ihug Connect service will save households with a telecom phone line and a broadband Internet connection more than $50 per month. ihug Connect is unique in that it uses a wireless access network to support all phone calls and high-speed Internet usage, making it one of the first widespread VoIP deployments using broadband wireless in the world.

ihug chose VocalData because it offers the most cost-effective application server on the market today, supporting the greatest number of calls per second while also delivering carrier-class reliability. In addition, VocalData provides flexible feature packages for service providers, allowing those supporting residential services to support residential VoIP "must haves" such as caller ID, call waiting, and voice mail as well as advanced features such as conferencing and click-to-dial.

"The VocalData application server provides the best-value VoIP platform while offering the advanced Class 5 functionality required by our business," said David Diprose, general manager, networks and engineering of ihug. "We have been pleased by both the quality of the VocalData platform and the customer support provided by the company - particularly given that the company's headquarters is located across the globe from New Zealand."

ihug also is leveraging VocalData's unique web portal capabilities to allow users to listen to their voice mail messages from any Internet-enabled computer. These capabilities allow service providers to quickly create a personalized, browser-based customer Web portal to boost brand awareness and increase customer ease-of-use.

"Forget the buzz around VoWLAN. Innovative broadband wireless service providers such as ihug have already deployed Voice over Wireless Wide Area Networks (VoWAN) to real customers," said Mark Whittier, vice president of marketing, VocalData. "The selection of VocalData by pioneering carriers such as ihug across the globe validates the superior flexibility, functionality, reliability and cost-effectiveness of our application server."

The addition of ihug as a customer is VocalData's first foray in the New Zealand market. With the addition of New Zealand, VocalData now has service provider customers on five continents, which in aggregate serve more than 250,000 VoIP end customers.

About ihug

ihug Ltd. is New Zealand's original internet pioneer. It has over 120,000 current subscribers across broadband, dial-up and telephony products in New Zealand. It also provides wholesale broadband and satellite access and web services to telecommunications operators and ISPs. The company has achieved its position from a culture of continuous innovation, which includes New Zealand's first flat rate dial up internet plans, high-speed internet access, virus and spam email filtering, and it one of New Zealand's leading VoIP telephony service providers.

In 2003, the company merged with iiNet, one of Australasia's largest Internet Service Providers. The group now has over 300,000 current subscribers across broadband, dial-up and telephony products in New Zealand and Australia.

About VocalData

VocalData, Inc. provides an integrated suite of hosted IP telephony applications that enable service providers to reliably and cost-effectively deliver voice-over-IP solutions. VocalData's award-winning application server is a comprehensive set of VoIP applications that allows service providers to deliver higher value telephony services to business and residential customers. Through its more than 50 customers and broad partner base, VocalData supports more than 250,000 deployed enhanced IP telephony lines today. VocalData was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Richardson, TX. For more information, visit www.vocaldata.com.