Core Facts

Truphone today announced a unique softphone application built on Facebook Platform that enables Facebook users and their friends to call each other for free.  Among the 'firsts' introduced by the Truphone 'Call Me' application is a moveable button that can be dropped anywhere on Facebook that accepts attachments, enabling users to:

• embed their 'Call Me' button within Facebook messages;
• post their 'Call Me' button onto their friends' walls;
• drop their 'Call Me' button onto Facebook group and discussion boards.

The Truphone 'Call Me' application is available to all Facebook users.  Users do not need a Truphone account or a special phone in order to use the application.

Core information

• Facebook users adding the application choose the number on which they'd like to take inbound calls and get a Truphone 'Call Me' button on their profile. A different number may easily be selected at any time, from these options:
  - Truphone mobile number
  - US cellphone
  - US landline
  - Other landline (choice from 40 countries worldwide)
  - Google Talk identity
  - Grand Central number
  - Any SIP phone
• Currently and until at least December 31st 2007, calls made using a Truphone 'Call Me' button to any of these numbers are free, in line with Truphone's present pricing.
• To make a call directly from their PC, any friend may simply click on the Call Me button and the Truphone application makes the call via a softphone embedded into Facebook. Truphone's 'click to call' approach differs from some other 'click to call back' ("bridging") applications which require both the caller and callee to add their numbers.
• A user's 'Call Me' Button can be set to only be visible to that user's friends. Actual phone numbers are not revealed.
• Facebook users may use the 'Call Me' Button on their friends' profiles for free for a limited period before they must install the application themselves. There is no cost or commitment.
• The Truphone 'Call Me' application is a regular Facebook application, so users can get it in the usual ways: - by clicking 'Add' when they see a Truphone 'Call Me' Button on a friend's profile - searching for Truphone in the application directory on Facebook.
• Facebook is a social utility that offers an efficient way for people to stay connected with their friends and the people around them. Facebook users communicate and share information through the social graph, the network of connections and relationships between people. With more than 54 million users, Facebook is the sixth most-trafficked website in the United States. Facebook recently launched Facebook Platform, a development platform that enables companies and engineers to integrate with Facebook and gain access to millions of users. More than 50 per cent of Facebook users return to the site each day, providing unparalleled distribution potential for applications and the opportunity to build a business that is highly relevant to people's lives.
  

Quotes

Dean Elwood, platform director, Truphone, said:

• "A generation of people is emerging that doesn't use email.  Instead, they use Facebook, messaging, and wall postings. Our view was that the Truphone Call Me application should remain true to the Facebook user experience, and to achieve that we've delivered an application with some truly progressive elements."
• "The Truphone Call Me application is completely embedded within the existing Facebook user experience.  We never make a user leave Facebook or have to pick up another device such as a phone; instead, we've embedded a softphone into Facebook."
• "One particularly exciting thing is that anytime a new service that accepts attachments is introduced to Facebook, our application will work on it because the Truphone Call Me button can be dropped into any attachment.  So people may use our application in ways that haven't been envisaged yet."

James Tagg, Truphone's chief executive officer, said:

• "By using Truphone VoIP, the Truphone 'Call Me' application delivers real, practical value and uses VoIP to bridge social media with regular telephony."
• "In the same way that messages on Facebook are always welcome because they are by definition always from friends, phone calls from friends are surely welcome too.  We want to encourage people to talk to each other more and, using Truphone, we can help to get people talking again spontaneously and for free."

Boilerplate Statements

About Truphone
Truphone develops Internet Protocol-based (IP-based) mobile internet telephony, delivered by means of 3G mobile networks and Wi-Fi networks. The Truphone service enables free and low-cost calls for customers by routing calls via Wi-Fi and the Internet.

The service is presently in a 'beta' state and offers Voice-over-IP, SMS-over-IP and 'presence' capabilities. This beta service was announced in mid-2006, when Truphone became the first company to introduce true internet telephony for mass market mobile phones.

Truphone is the trading name of Software Cellular Network (SCN). SCN is privately owned, funded by both venture capital investment and angel investors.

Important information

Truphone is not a replacement for an ordinary telephone service and emergency calls cannot be made using Truphone. However Truphone does not prevent emergency calls being made via a handset's normal cellular service provider.

Truphone cannot advise on the legality of VoIP services in specific territories or jurisdictions. It is the user's responsibility to confirm that use of the Truphone VoIP software and service is permitted in the location in which they use it.

Core Facts

• Truphone will today give the first public demonstration of a Voice over Internet Protocol over Wi-Fi phone call on the Apple iPhone.  Chief executive officer James Tagg will make the VoIP call in front of an audience of 350 delegates to DEMOfall 07 in San Diego, CA.

• The company will also give a demonstration of an application that mashes up social networking site Facebook and traditional telephony. Any Facebook user will be able to click on a friend's Truphone 'Call Me' button, and a free phone call will be initiated to whichever phone their friend has chosen. This will mean free calls to real phones for everyone in the Facebook community.

• Altogether, Truphone will today demonstrate:
  - VoIP on the Apple iPhone (SIP-SIP, SIP-Phone, Phone-SIP)
  - VoIP from Facebook (to SIP and to PSTN)
  - and, as an encore, Facebook-iPhone using SIP. 

iPhone demonstration

1. Many people have called for true VoIP calling on Apple's iPhone. Truphone will today prove that it is possible using the iPhone's in-built Wi-Fi capability.
2. Truphone's demonstration will comprise two iPhones connected to Wi-Fi on the DEMOfall 07 stage.  A VoIP call will be initiated from one handset, routed via Wi-Fi and the Internet to Truphone's servers, and then back again to the access point and onwards to the destination handset - a 100% IP phone call.
3. Today's event will be a live demonstration only and is not a commercial launch of Truphone on the iPhone.
4. Truphone does not need to unlock the SIM in order to operate its service for the iPhone.

Facebook

1. The company will also give a demonstration today of an application that mashes up social networking site Facebook with traditional telephony.  The big differentiator between Truphone's demonstration and other applications for Facebook is that Truphone is the only one to embed an actual phone into the very heart of Facebook.
2. Facebook users will be able to drop their Truphone 'Call Me' button onto their friends' Walls and also embed it into Facebook messages. People will be able to allow other people to call them, while keeping their actual number confidential.
3. The Truphone 'Call Me' button for Facebook to be demonstrated today showcases the potential for additional innovative services enabled by Truphone's all-IP internet telephony infrastructure.
4. Truphone's Facebook application is currently in development.

Quotes

James Tagg, Truphone's CEO, said:

"Truphone is truly the mobile operator for the internet age and our aim is to see Truphone available on all cellular phones with the inherent functionality needed to make VoIP calls.  The Apple iPhone is such a phone and we're pleased to be able to show it working for real."

"People today use multiple tools to communicate in different ways at different times, but this multiplication of options can serve to confuse consumers. By providing the Facebook community with free calls to real phones, Truphone will genuinely help bridge the worlds of traditional and internet telephony."

Boilerplate Statements

About Truphone (www.truphone.com)

In mid-2006, Truphone was the first company to introduce true internet telephony (‘VoIP’) for mass market mobile phones, enabling free and low-cost calls from handsets via Wi-Fi and the Internet. The company is closely involved with the open source community and is developing the Truphone service in accordance with internationally-recognised open standards.  The company has development teams and partners in locations across Finland, Romania, USA and the UK.In December 2006 Truphone was selected as a ‘Technology Pioneer for 2007’ by the World Economic Forum.  At the end of 2006 it received the biggest Series-A venture capital investment of the year for a European technology company. Truphone is the trading name of Software Cellular Network Limited (SCN), a privately-owned UK technology company founded in 2000. 

For further information, visit www.truphonepressoffice.com. Important information about emergency calls: Truphone is not a replacement for an ordinary telephone service and emergency calls cannot be made using Truphone.  However Truphone does not prevent emergency calls being made via a handset’s normal cellular service provider.Truphone and Google Talk may be trademarks or registered trademark of their respective owners.