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Net2Phone

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Net2Phone
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryBusiness Communications Services
Founded1990; 34 years ago (1990)
FounderHoward Jonas
HeadquartersNewark, New Jersey USA
Number of locations
US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Columbia, Chile, Brazil, Spain, Uruguay, Costa Rica (2023)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jonah Fink - Chief Executive Officer


Zali Ritholtz - Chief Operations Officer
Jeffrey Skelton - Chief Technology Officer

Marcelo Fischer - Chief Financial Officer
BrandsUNITE, uContact, Huddle
Revenue$58.2 million (2022)
Members325,000 (2022)
Number of employees
500+ (2022)
ParentIDT Corporation
Websitewww.net2phone.com

net2phone is a Cloud Communications provider offering cloud based telephony services to businesses worldwide. The company is a subsidiary of IDT Corporation.

History

net2phone was founded in 1990 by telecom entrepreneur Howard Jonas, the chairman and chief executive officer of net2phone’s parent company, IDT Corporation. The company was an early pioneer in the commercialization of voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) technologies leveraging the global carrier business and infrastructure of IDT and focusing on transitioning businesses and consumers from PSTN, traditional telecom interconnects, to Voice over IP.

On July 30, 1999, during the dot-com bubble, the company became a public company via an initial public offering, raising $81 million. Shares rose 77% on the first day of trading to $26 per share.[1] After completion of the IPO, IDT owned 57% of the company.[2] Within a few weeks, the shares increased another 100% in value, to $53 per share.[2]

In March 2000, in a transaction facilitated by IDT CEO Howard Jonas, a consortium of telecommunications companies led by AT&T announced a $1.4 billion investment for a 32% stake in the company, buying shares for $75 each. The transaction was completed in August 2000.[3] AOL had expressed an interest in buying all or part of the company but was not agreeable to the price.[4]

In August 2000, Jonathan Fram, president of the company, left the company to join eVoice.[5][6]

In September 2000, the company formed Adir Technologies, a joint venture with Cisco Systems.[7][8] In March 2002, the company sued Cisco for breach of contract.[9]

In February 2002, the company announced 110 layoffs, or 28% of its workforce.[10]

In October 2004, Liore Alroy became chief executive officer of the company.[11]

On March 13, 2006, IDT Corporation acquired the shares of the company that it did not already own for $2.05 per share.[12]

In 2015, net2phone began providing Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) targeted to the SMB market. net2phone’s UCaaS initiative was developed by the Company’s management team led by its President, Jonah Fink.

Over the next 3 years, net2phone continued to expand its UCaaS offering into Argentina,[13] Brazil,[14] Colombia,[15] Mexico,[16] and Peru,[17] leveraging its local infrastructure, communication licenses and local staff all while selling in the respective market’s local currency and language sets.

Acquisitions

In 2001, the company acquired iPing.[18]

In 2000, the company acquired Aplio, an internet appliance maker located in San Bruno, California.

As Unified Communications demands more than just voice over IP, such as messaging – in January 2017 net2phone acquired Live Ninja,[19][20] a Miami based provider of a customer-facing messaging and live chat management service.

In 2018, net2phone launched an updated version of its communications platform, incorporating the technology and capabilities from the Live Ninja acquisition.

Further expansion came in 2019 with the acquisition of Versature,[21] a SaaS-based business communications and hosted VoIP provider serving the Canadian market.

In 2020 with the acquisition of RingSouth Europa,[22] a business communications provider headquartered in Murcia, Spain.

In 2020, with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic causing a shift in the workplace environment, net2phone launched a native integration into Microsoft Teams,[23] as well as its own video conferencing platform, net2phone Huddle,[24] followed by further integrations into CRM tools such as Salesforce and Zoho and collaboration tools such as Slack.

In 2022, net2phone acquired Integra CCS,[25] a CCaaS provider operating out of Uruguay.

References

  1. ^ "Net2Phone Shares Gain 77% After $81 Million Offering". The Wall Street Journal. July 30, 1999.
  2. ^ a b KOO, CAROLYN (December 13, 1999). "Net2Phone Surges on Earnings, Qualcomm Deal". TheStreet.com.
  3. ^ Cholewka, Kathleen (April 3, 2000). "AT&T, Yahoo! Invest In Net2Phone". Forbes.
  4. ^ Dignan, Larry (March 31, 2000). "AT&T trumps AOL, buys into Net2Phone". ZDNet.
  5. ^ Cleary, Sharon (August 25, 2000). "Net2Phone President Departs To Run Closely Held eVoice". The Wall Street Journal.
  6. ^ "DCM-Doll Capital Management Adds Jonathan Fram". BusinessWire. June 28, 2005.
  7. ^ "ADIR Technologies Completes Acquisition of NetSpeak". NJ Biz. August 9, 2005.
  8. ^ "Cisco calls on Net2Phone". CNN. September 18, 2000.
  9. ^ Bennett, Amy (March 20, 2002). "Net2Phone, ADIR sue Cisco over VoIP technology". International Data Group.
  10. ^ "Net2Phone Cuts More Jobs". The Wall Street Journal. February 21, 2002.
  11. ^ "Net2Phone Names New CEO, Changes Board Structure". The Wall Street Journal. September 23, 2004.
  12. ^ "IDT Announces Completion of Acquisition of Net2Phone" (Press release). Business Wire. March 13, 2006.
  13. ^ net2phone. "net2phone Launches Hosted PBX Service in Argentina". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2023-06-22.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "net2phone Accelerates International Expansion". Bloomberg.com. 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  15. ^ net2phone. "net2phone Launches Hosted PBX Unlimited Service in Colombia". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2023-06-22.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ net2phone. "net2phone Launches Unified Communications Service in Mexico". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2023-06-22.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "net2phone Accelerates International Expansion". Bloomberg.com. 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  18. ^ Naraine, Ryan (July 18, 2001). "Net2Phone Acquires iPing". QuinStreet.
  19. ^ "net2phone Acquires LiveNinja" (Press release). Business Wire. January 4, 2017.
  20. ^ Lima, Debora (January 4, 2017). "Miami startup acquired by public company's subsidiary". American City Business Journals.
  21. ^ "IDT unit buys Canada's Versature". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  22. ^ "net2phone Acquires Spanish UCaaS Provider RingSouth Europa". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
  23. ^ net2phone. "net2phone's Cloud Communications Service Now Integrates with Microsoft Teams". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2023-06-22.{{cite press release}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ "net2phone Introduces Huddle Video Conferencing". nasdaq. 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  25. ^ "News : net2phone Acquires Integra, an Omnichannel CCaaS Platform". ContactCenterWorld.com. 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
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