Back to press releasesNEWARK, NJ— June 12, 2001 – IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT) today announced the successful launch of its new international calling plan which effectively cuts the Company’s already competitive overseas rates by an average of 30% to more than 200 countries around the world. IDT is a leading facilities-based multinational telecommunications carrier. The Company also announced its new 5-cents-a-minute rate to anywhere in Canada, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere in the continental United States.
“The new international rate plan is an important and strategic move for us, since many of the people who use other IDT services are frequent international callers,” said Howard Jonas, IDT’s Chairman and CEO. “Now we are able to build and deepen our relationships with international customers by securing their domestic long distance and offering them significant savings on international long distance and other IDT services.”
IDT’s new 5-cents-a-minute rate to Canada is available immediately to all IDT Long Distance subscribers for no additional fee. Its new International plan, introduced on March 26th, 2001, is available to customers enrolled in IDT’s flat-rate residential long distance service for an additional $2.00 a month. Alternatively, the company offers a no-fee plan at just 6.9 cents-a-minute domestically which includes the aggressive international rates. This plan requires a $10 monthly minimum.
The new international plan features 5 cents-a minute to Canada, 8-cents-a-minute calling to Australia and Hong Kong, 9-cents-a-minute to Japan, and rates as low as 7-cents-a-minute to some of the most frequently called countries in Europe. These rates represent dramatic savings to overseas callers, and are as much as 70% below the lowest rates offered by the big three long distance companies.
The strength and scale of IDT’s core wholesale telecom operations enable the Company to successfully negotiate and secure the lowest possible domestic and international rates in the industry and pass these rates on in the form of dramatic savings to its long distance customers. Increases in international Long Distance traffic should benefit significantly IDT’s bottom line since, frequent international callers represent a higher revenue, higher margin, and a recurring customer base. Also, international callers are an ideal audience for marketing IDT’s other telecommunications products and services geared toward overseas callers and frequent business travelers.
“Our new international calling plan is more solid proof of how IDT is aggressively working to bring the highest quality communication products and services at the lowest possible cost to an ever increasing segment of the market,” said Jim Courter, President of IDT. “IDT has injected a well-needed shot of adrenaline into an industry that had become bogged down in high overhead, inefficient legacy systems and a marketplace lacking competitive energy.”
IDT introduced its flat-rate residential Long Distance service in February 2000. Since its launch just over a year ago, the service has attracted 400,000 subscribers and is currently enrolling thousands of new customers a day. IDT’s long distance service features interstate calling rates of 5-cents-a-minute to most places in the continental United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is one of the most competitive plans in the country and is available in most areas across the nation.
IDT CORPORATION
IDT is a leading facilities-based, multinational carrier and international telecommunications operator which provide a broad range of services to its wholesale and retail customers worldwide.
Through its own national telecommunications backbone and fiber optic network infrastructure, IDT provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance telephony, and prepaid calling cards. The Company’s Ventures division is developing several innovative telecom and Internet related businesses. Through its IDT Investments subsidiary, IDT has equity interests in several telecom and Internet-related companies.
Except for historical information, all of the expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, involving risks and uncertainties. These statements refer to our plans to implement our growth strategy, improve our financial performance, expand our infrastructure, develop new products and services, expand our customer base and enter international markets. The forward-looking statements also include our expectations concerning factors affecting the markets for our products, including the demand for long distance telecommunications, and Internet access services. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results that we anticipate. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risks discussed in this release. In addition to the factors specifically noted in the forward looking statements, other important factors that could result in those differences include (a) general economic conditions in the telecommunications and Internet markets, including inflation, recession, interest rates, and other economic factors; (b) casualty to or other disruption of our facilities and operations; (c) those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10K for the period ended July 31, 2000; and (d) other factors that generally affect the business of telecommunications, Internet and other communications companies. We assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward-looking statements.
