BroadVoice Selected As VoIP Launch Partner by Catalog and Web Retailer Hello Direct; BroadVoice offers a $50 rebate on each line activated with Hello Direct VoIP hardware

Business Wire, Jan 7, 2005

LAS VEGAS -- BroadVoice, the industry leader in feature-rich, low-cost Internet telephone service, has announced a strategic partnership with Hello Direct, the leading direct marketer of desktop telephony products, to offer the BroadVoice VoIP (Voice over IP) service bundled with an array of SIP (Session Initiated Protocol) based VoIP telephone devices. Hello Direct has been selling headsets and telephones to small businesses for over 17 years. The BroadVoice service allows customers to make and receive telephone calls over their existing high speed (broadband) Internet connections, and provides them with 24 free calling features, including voicemail, caller ID, and call waiting.

Hello Direct is selling the BroadVoice service with a broad lineup of VoIP phone adapters used to connect standard telephones to the Internet, as well as VoIP ready phones, VoIP headsets, wireless VoIP phones, and 4-line 16-extension VoIP telephone systems from a variety of manufacturers. Each line activated through Hello Direct can qualify for a $50 rebate from BroadVoice. Hello Direct's(TM) senior product marketing manager James Sorris said, "Hello Direct wants to be the source for VoIP hardware in the business to business community. We have chosen to bundle BroadVoice on the provider side, and we think this will be an excellent combination for hardware and service in a market that is set to explode."

BroadVoice President David Epstein added, "SIP based VoIP devices will continue to proliferate in 2005. We are excited to support this trend with our VoIP service. Hello Direct has been a leading retailer of traditional telephony products and now takes the lead in VoIP as well. We are honored to be chosen as their service provider partner."

BroadVoice offers several unlimited consumer and business service plans starting at just $ 9.95 per month. Business customers can purchase the BroadVoice Unlimited Business plan for $29.95 per month and are able to make unlimited free calls to the United States and Canada. When purchased through Hello Direct all BroadVoice activation fees are waived and customers receive a $50 rebate for each line that they activate.

About BroadVoice

BroadVoice service lets consumers and small businesses use a high-speed DSL or cable modem connection to make and receive phone calls anywhere in the world. Customers benefit from unlimited domestic and international calling and a suite of 24 basic and advanced features for one low monthly fixed price. BroadVoice currently offers service in over 1,500 rate centers in 36 US states. Founded in December 2003, BroadVoice is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Convergent Networks, Inc. and is based in Lowell, MA. Additional information can be found at http://www.broadvoice.com.

About Hello Direct

Hello Direct has been the leading developer and direct marketer of desktop telephony products since 1987. They have grown from a small handful of visionaries to a well recognized business-to-business leader in telecommunications solutions. In November, 2000, Hello Direct merged with and became a cooperating unit of GN Netcom (a world leader in hands-free communication technologies), a unit of GN Great Nordic Ltd., a public company traded on the Copenhagen and London Stock Exchanges. For further information about the Hello Direct please visit http://www.hellodirect.com.