WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Nov. 3, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- United Online, Inc. (Nasdaq:UNTD), a leading provider of consumer Internet subscription services, has launched NetZero Voice, a Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service that provides local and long distance calling over dial-up and broadband Internet connections. With a free computer-to-computer calling plan and the limited time offer of three months free(1) on its pay plans, NetZero Voice brings free domestic long distance calling to consumers just in time for the holiday season.
The NetZero Voice Internet phone service works with virtually any ISP service, dial-up or broadband, and allows the huge universe of global dialup users, including the estimated 45 million U.S. users, the opportunity to finally enjoy Internet phone calling, which has previously been available predominantly for broadband. There are four value-priced NetZero Voice calling plans ranging from free to $14.95 per month. To sign up for a pay service a U.S. billing address is required. The first three months for NetZero Voice pay plans are free for a limited time.
"We believe consumers should not have to have broadband Internet access in order to enjoy the price savings and feature content of Internet phone calling," said Mark R. Goldston, chairman, CEO and president of United Online. "With plan prices ranging from free to $14.95, NetZero Voice lets dial-up or broadband Internet users make Internet phone calls for less than they would pay for traditional phone service or for many other VoIP service plans. The full-featured NetZero Voice does not require an adaptor, a router or any other high tech hardware and there are no start-up fees. All you do is download and install the free software in a matter of minutes, plug in a microphone and speakers or a headset and start making Internet phone calls."
There are four NetZero Voice plans to choose from:
-- NetZero FreeVoice: Offers unlimited worldwide computer-to-computer
calling between NetZero Voice users.
-- NetZero Pay-As-You-Go: Offers unlimited worldwide computer-to-computer
calling between NetZero Voice users. Users can purchase prepaid
credits in $5, $10, $25 and $50 increments to call landlines and cell
phones worldwide from their computer at rates as low as two cents per
minute.
-- NetZero Voice 100: In addition to free unlimited worldwide
computer-to-computer calling and a personal phone number(2), adds
100 minutes of computer-to-phone (landline or cell phone) or
phone-to-computer calling to the continental United States, Canada
and Puerto Rico for $3.95 per month. Additional domestic calling
time costs two cents per minute. International call rates start at
two cents per minute and vary depending on the country called.
-- NetZero Voice Unlimited: In addition to free unlimited worldwide
computer-to-computer calling and a personal phone number, adds
unlimited computer-to-phone (landline or cell phone) and
phone-to-computer calling to the continental United States, Canada
and Puerto Rico and unlimited inbound calls from any landline or
mobile phone for $14.95 per month. International call rates start
at two cents per minute and vary depending on the country called.
NetZero Voice software can be quickly downloaded from
www.netzerovoice.com, and installed in just a few minutes. All four
plans include an assortment of premium features including:
-- Free voicemail with the NetZero Message Center
-- Free NetZero email account
-- Instant messaging capabilities
-- Caller ID
-- Call waiting
-- Call blocking
The NetZero Voice 100, and NetZero Voice Unlimited plans have all of
the above features while providing users with:
-- A personal telephone number with choice of area code
-- Up to two GB of email storage
-- 3-way calling
-- Find Me Follow Me call forwarding, which allows incoming calls to
be forwarded to up to five phone numbers in succession and answered
on any telephone
Voice-over-Internet Protocol transmits telephone calls over the Internet instead of over traditional phone lines to deliver substantial cost savings to consumers. Calls, like email, are broken down into bits of data that are transmitted rapidly over the Internet to computers, landlines or cell phones anywhere in the world. In addition to the cost savings, VoIP gives users access to an assortment of features that traditional phone services cannot offer or for which they charge a premium, including call forwarding, 3-way calling, Instant Messaging and the ability to check voicemail online. Unlike most VoIP services, NetZero Voice is designed to work well over both broadband and dial-up Internet connections. Using proprietary technology, NetZero Voice reduces echo, latency and other problems that have plagued many competitive VoIP connections.
For system requirements or for more information on NetZero Voice, go to www.netzerovoice.com. For information on other NetZero products, please go to www.netzero.com. For media information or to set up a trial account please visit www.unitedonline.net/press.
(1) Free calling includes computer-to-computer calling between NetZero Voice IDs only. 3-month free offer available on all NetZero Voice plans except NetZero Voice Pay-As-You Go.
(2) Only U.S. PSTN phone numbers are available at this time.
About United Online
United Online, Inc. (Nasdaq:UNTD) is a leading provider of consumer Internet subscription services through a number of brands, including NetZero, NetZero Voice, Juno, and Classmates. The company's services include Internet access, accelerated dial-up services, Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling plans, premium email, personal web hosting, domain services, photo sharing services and social networking. United Online is headquartered in Woodland Hills, CA, with offices in New York City, NY, Renton, WA, San Francisco, CA, Orem, UT, Munich, Germany, Jarfalla, Sweden, and Hyderabad, India. For more information about United Online and its Internet services, please visit http://www.untd.com.