NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 26, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- VoIP Telecom, Inc. (OTCBB:VOPT) announced today that Mr. Sek Toh (Steven) Tan, D.L.C. (Hons.), D.I.C. (London), P.B.M. (Singapore), of Vancouver, has been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Tan brings to VoIP Telecom the valuable background and focus of an Asian telecommunications management veteran.
Steven Tan joins a VoIP Telecom, Inc. Board membership which includes C.E.O., Mr. A. "Sandy" Anderson, the Corporate Secretary, Mr. Robert Hogarth, along with Mr. Ken Martin, recently named the Company's Executive Vice-President responsible for VoIP operations.
A mechanical engineer by profession, Mr. Tan has been a Government-appointed Member of the Board of Directors of Singapore Telecom (www.singtel.com), and served for seven years on the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore. As founder of Setron Limited, a Singapore Stock Exchange-listed company, which grew to become one of the largest TV and electronic equipment manufacturers in Southeast Asia, Mr. Tan negotiated joint ventures with leading Japanese and American manufacturers. He has served as a Member of the Executive Committee of the Singapore Manufacturers Association, in which capacity he led several Singapore Government Trade Missions. A former director of RACAL Electronics (S) Pte. Ltd., from 1995 through 2000 he was President of APAC Telecommunications Corporation, a Canadian Venture Exchange-listed company ["APA"] that supplies capital, technology, equipment and expertise to strategic partners in developing countries to build wireless telecommunications networks.
VoIP Telecom, Inc.is focused on the deployment of worldwide digital, voice and data via VoIP, fiber optic, Internet circuit, satellite and public switched telephone networks. VoIP Telecom's strategic vision is to become a leader in converging conductivity solutions by building a major consortium of the highest quality Voice over Internet Protocol networks to obtain a significant market share of long distance traffic.
VoIP Telecom, Inc. recently announced its entry into the fast-paced, highly profitable global telecommunications marketplace concentrated on VoIP via two proposed acquisitions - Access Network Limited and International Communication & Equipment, Inc., of Seattle, Washington (ICE). VoIP-based networks are lower cost alternatives to traditional long distance calling solutions. According to Gartner Group's Dataquest (NYSE:IT) - the global 'Voice-over-Packet Services' market will grow to $87 Billion by 2004, and retail VoIP services are expected to boom from $443 Million in 1999 to $19 Billion in 2004.
Emerging Telecom companies are embracing new technologies that will take advantage of new VoIP networks, which deliver cheaper telecommunication service. The major telcoms are already scrambling to catch up with the Voice over IP leaders. Recently, Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO) and an AT&T (NYSE:T) led consortium announced investments of $1.4 billion in Net2Phone taking a 32 percent stake in the young VoIP company. Net2Phone (Nasdaq:NTOP) currently handles roughly 40 percent of all phone calls routed over the Internet.
This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to operations and business, the results of which could differ materially from those discussed. Risks and uncertainties are detailed in reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Company.