This new utility voice application, custom developed by HeyAnita and running on Net2Phone’s Voice over IP (VoIP) Enhanced Services Platform, is designed for mobile professionals, enabling "device agnostic" access to their contact databases, thereby increasing productivity. HeyAnita is a leading voice software company that has partnered with Net2Phone to build applications specifically for Net2Phone’s VoIP Voice Hosting infrastructure.

The PVD is an example of a HeyAnita application that leverages the strengths of Net2Phone’s Voice Hosting and Enhanced Services Platform. Based on open standards, the Enhanced Services Platform reduces the time-to-market typically associated with proprietary voice platforms. Because the PVD is network-based, and therefore "device agnostic," it enables voice-activated access from any cell phone, home phone, hotel phone, or any telephone in the country. Businesses can select toll-free access or alternatively, the PVD application can be associated with a Net2Phone local-access number, greatly reducing the per-minute costs to use the service.

The Net2Phone Voice Hosting service is available to businesses on a pay-for-usage model enabling enterprises that rely on immediate access to information, such as Sales Force Automation (SFA) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services, to benefit from voice services without any up-front capital expenditures.

Net2Phone’s Voice Hosting Service is designed to provide businesses with the ability to offer their clients/users access from any telephone to content, services, and information by simply using their voice. Offering such applications using Net2Phone’s VoIP network and infrastructure significantly reduces prohibitive PSTN hardware requirements while enabling Net2Phone the ability to drive high margin minutes over its network. Additionally, business customers benefit from labor cost savings and reduced network transit costs previously associated with deploying voice enhanced services to their customers and/or employees.

"Hosting voice services within Net2Phone’s global Voice over IP network enables businesses to quickly rollout high-quality services that impact the bottom line through increased sales productivity," said Howard Balter, CEO of Net2Phone. "The PVD is a great way to showcase the productivity benefits of voice-enabled applications for businesses and their mobile workforces."

"Hosting voice services within Net2Phone’s global Voice over IP network enables businesses to quickly rollout high-quality services that impact the bottom line through increased sales productivity," said Howard Balter, CEO of Net2Phone. "The PVD is a great way to showcase the productivity benefits of voice-enabled applications for businesses and their mobile workforces."

The rollout of such enhanced services is further evidence of the company’s strategy to deliver value-added voice services to businesses and carriers. Net2Phone provides the telephony infrastructure, redundant networks and hosting platform, and works with best-of-breed software companies, such as HeyAnita, to develop the voice application.

The PVD will be demonstrated at Nuance’s V-World conference in San Diego, CA from May 21-23, at Booth #54. Currently in a controlled beta test, the company expects to roll out a nationwide PVD service this summer to businesses, consumers, and other service providers. Once live, users will be able to upload existing address books from MS Exchange or Palm devices to the Net2Phone network and can manage and organize their address book entries on a personalized web page, as well as benefiting from telephone access and response to their corporate email. All calls will travel over Net2Phone’s private IP network, enabling clear transmission of calls.

The PVD is customizable for businesses looking to voice enable corporate directories for easy access to phone numbers. For example, a traveling sales representative in his car can call a toll-free number to access his company’s corporate directory, and say "Call John Doe in the office" or "Call John Doe on the cell phone" and be instantly connected to Mr. Doe, whether he’s in the office, on the cell phone, or at home. Users can also recite the digits of a phone number aloud if the individual’s number is not programmed into the address book (instead of saying "Call John Doe," say "Call 555-555-1234.").

Founded in 1995, Net2Phone is a leading provider of voice and enhanced services over IP networks to consumers, businesses and carriers worldwide. With millions of users around the world, Net2Phone enables toll-quality calls between computers, telephones, and broadband devices utilizing IP networks. Recognized as the first company to bridge the Internet with the public switched telephone network, Net2Phone has routed more than 1.5 billion minutes of traffic over its award-winning network. Traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol NTOP, Net2Phone’s strategic partners and investors include AT&T, America Online, and Yahoo!. Net2Phone also offers enhanced hosted service solutions, including voice recognition, for businesses around the world. For more information about Net2Phone's products and services, please visit www.net2phone.com.