Phone Plus Prepaid: Contracts & Deals

Posted: 12/2002

Contracts & Deals

* Carib-Tel Ltd. of Kingston,
Jamaica, and Phonetime Inc. of Toronto, Canada, have installed a Voiceware
Systems Inc. telephony services platform to offer prepaid calling cards,
caller ID-based international phone and voicemail services to local and tourist
markets. Phonetime, Carib-Tel’s technology and equity partner, has used
Voiceware switches for five years.

* Nuetel Telecom Inc. and iNexcom
have announced a strategic partnership to offer "Mexico Lindo" and
"Merengue" prepaid cards. In less than 30 days of the partnership, the
companies claimed more than 330 retailers had signed on to distribute the cards,
in Brazil and in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, San Jose, Tampa and Virginia.

* Prepaid service bureau Dial
World Network has contracted the services of two telecom consultancies —
Maverick and Telecom Dynamics — for the expansion of its international network
and new product development. These companies specialize in helping prepaid
providers increase the efficiency and profitability of their prepaid programs
with hardware/software solutions and competitive carrier agreements.

* Trex Communications Inc.
has announced agreements to provide network and infrastructure services for the
prepaid phone card products offered by distributors Unitel Telecard and Option
Communications LLC. Through its TREXNET network, Trex offers wholesale
carrier services internationally through agreements with international
incumbents, carriers and private line network providers.

* Blackstone Calling Cards Inc.
signed an e-commerce distribution agreement with Terra Networks S.A.’s
Terra.com, the U.S. Hispanic portal of the Terra Lycos network, to distribute
electronic PINs via Terra’s newest e-shopping endeavor, the Tarjetas Telefonicas
channel.

* Telemac Corp. has expanded
its agreement and joint marketing efforts with SchlumbergerSema, a
business unit of Schlumberger Ltd. In March 2002, Telemac and SchlumbergerSema
collaborated on the SchlumbergerSema Telemac-enabled SIM cards for GSM wireless
devices in North America. The two companies now will expand their marketing,
product development and licensing efforts to worldwide markets; explore
additional implementations, such as R-UIMs and other smart cards for CDMA
wireless devices; and actively market SchlumbergerSema Telemac-enabled smart
cards in the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific markets.

* First Mobile Japan Co. Ltd.
is deploying the VocalTec Communications Ltd. calling card solution for
international calling services. The deployment targets prepaid calling card
consumer services from Japan to China, with subsequent expansion to cover
Brazil, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is based on VocalTec’s
multiservice Voice over IP (VoIP) architecture.

* PhoenixSoft has announced
that Innovative Telecom Inc., a switch-based provider of wholesale and
prepaid telecom services, has contracted the company to provide its CMS/2000
enhanced services software and CMS/Server convergent billing software as the
platform for its long-distance network. Innovative seeks to better bill its
wholesale customers and prepaid calling card distributors. PhoenixSoft also
announced that GlobalTel, an international provider of prepaid telecom
services, has contracted the company to provide its CMS/2000 enhanced services
software as the platform for its international long distance network.

* 9278 Communications has
announced a strategic partnership with U.K. telecom company Alpha Telecom
Communications Ltd. The two companies will join forces to conduct
joint-marketing campaigns across Europe and the United States. Alpha Telecom
sells more than 1 million phone cards a month through more than 60,000 retail
outlets in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain
and the United Kingdom.