NETcall dials up e-commerce

NETcall Technologies has enlisted the international public network backbone of Global One to support its new Internet-integrated telephony service, which NETcall says can help spur e-commerce.

The service, called SomeOne, will be available to U.S. customers starting this week. It uses NETcall's patented HyperPhone Link technology, which lets Internet browsers click on icons placed on business Web sites. This triggers the business' Web server to place a call back to the browser user over the public network.

The solution appeals to people who are still afraid that the Internet is too insecure for commercial transactions, said Saul Orbach, director of international business at NETcall Technologies. "This alleviates the barriers to e-commerce because we put the business in touch with the customer and give them their chance at bat to sell a product advertised on their Web site. It also creates more public network minutes," he said.

Even single Web ads can carry the SomeOne icon, so a business does not need a Web site to take advantage of the service. The icon would instead trigger the Internet service provider's server to call the user.

Last year, a study by the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that 49% of Internet users considered buying products on the Internet, but only 21% actually did so.

Don't miss a thing. Check out our Web site June 2-5 for up-to-the-minute news from Supercomm '97 in New Orleans. www.internettelephony.com/content/html/beat.html