iSkoot Partner Program Offers Mobile Carriers and OEMs Interoperability with Skype, Google and other PC-PC Networks

iSkoot mobile phones solution enables carriers and OEMs to gain minutes, revenue from PC phone revolution

CAMBRIDGE, MA – February 14, 2006 – iSkoot, a mobile Internet phone company, announced today the iSkoot Partner Program aimed at providing mobile carriers and equipment manufacturer's interoperability with Skype, Google, and other PC-PC networks. With its new Partner Program, iSkoot provides a way that mobile carriers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can leverage the Voice-over-IP phenomenon to increase revenue.

Up until now, Internet phone growth hasn't been able to go truly mobile. Users are still tied to their computers to make/receive calls, and must use custom hardware and phones or be in a Wi-Fi hotspot. The iSkoot Mobile Network provides a gateway that connects a voice network with a PC-PC network so consumers can use their Internet phone service from any cell phone; even without PCs or Wi-Fi hot spots. For mobile carriers and OEMs, the iSkoot Partner Program delivers a mobile VoIP solution that truly offers ubiquitous connectivity with Internet phone services from any carrier's service or manufacturer's cell phone.

"Conventional wisdom says that VoIP and Wi-Fi pose a threat to cannibalize mobile air-time minutes away from the mobile operator. What the conventional view does not take into account is the phenomenal growth of PC-PC calls. Billions of minutes of new calls are going through the PC-PC IP network route, calls that would not have been made otherwise. Rather than stealing anyone's minutes, PC Calling is increasing the total minutes of voice communications. The mobile networks, though, are not yet benefiting from this revolution," said Jacob Guedalia, Chief Executive Officer, iSkoot. "iSkoot is a product for mobile telephones, no PC required. By creating a bridge spanning the mobile and broadband networks mobile users can jump from one to the other and take advantage of Internet phone services and buddy lists directly from their regular, everyday cell phones, with no need for Wi-Fi, headsets, microphones, PCs, or USB phones; while the cell phone companies would get expanded Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). iSkoot has an answer."

The iSkoot Partner Program offers carriers and OEMs Mobile-to-PC network interoperability, and the ability to allow their consumers to use their regular mobile phones to access VoIP PC-to-PC services. While the billions of PC calling minutes currently circumvent the cellular network, iSkoot can redirect this traffic and channel new minutes through mobile operators' air time. By enabling mobile-to-PC communications today, iSkoot brings additional air-time minutes onto the mobile network. Calling PCs from a cell phone is a new category of minutes, and revenue, for the wireless operator. By connecting mobile phones to the PC-PC IP network, iSkoot software allows operators to benefit from VoIP and new PC calling minutes to increase ARPU.

"In addition to capturing new minutes, iSkoot gives mobile operators a competitive edge by offering the next killer cell phone application. To complement text messaging to buddy systems, cell phone operators can now offer to connect voice communications from a mobile phone to an IM client. Our solution is all about the mobile phone, it's all the user needs to access and benefit from PC calling, the next frontier for the mobile operator, and the next must-have feature among cell phone users. Far from being a threat, VoIP iSkoot leverages PC-Calling to provide the mobile operator with an excellent opportunity to gain air-time minutes, expand ARPU and capture greater market share," concluded iSkoot CEO Jacob Guedalia.

For more information about joining the iSkoot Partner Program, send an email to partners@iskoot.com.

About iSkoot

San Francisco-based iSkoot brings leading internet services like Skype to mobile handsets around the world, delivering rich consumer experiences with minimal impact on operator networks.

iSkoot launched the first and only carrier-grade, carrier-deployed Skype-for-Mobile application in 2006, and now powers the Mobile World Congress award-winning 3 Skypephone currently sold in eight countries on three continents.

iSkoot takes advantage of the voice-optimized circuit-switched network for delivery of voice communications, in keeping with its mission to engineer elegant and operator-friendly solutions to the challenge of bringing resource-intensive internet services to mobile handsets.