Net2Phone opens new Web sales channels

When future Web surfers download the next Netscape Communicator, they'll find a Net2Phone button on the browser toolbar.

As part of a two-year exclusive deal announced last week between IDT Corp and Netscape, which just released a new Communicator version, Netscape users on Internet protocol voice-equipped computers can place domestic and international voice-over-IP calls from their PCs to standard telephones without logging off the Web. Surfers without the latest Netscape browser will find a similar Net2Phone hot button in the Contact sector of Netscape's Netcenter portal.

"The beauty of this arrangement is that there's no download involved in the Netscape browser," said Mordy Rothberg, Net2Phone executive vice president. "All the various other services we offer involve a short download-usually about five minutes. It's quick, but you always lose some users. This way, the software will be built right in."

Netscape users using Net2Phone will get domestic IP phone rates of 4.9 cents a minute and savings of 70% to 90% on international calls. As part of the deal, Net2Phone will call on Netscape for future electronic commerce solutions to be used on easysurf.com, its IP voice-enabled shopping portal, and on its own Web site.

"The implications of this partnership are tremendously powerful," said Mike Homer, Netscape's Netcenter division vice president, in announcing the agreement. No details were disclosed on the timing of the next browser release.

The deal goes deeper than one Net2Phone struck a year ago to provide IP voice for the People Search function of portal site Yahoo!

In another move last week, Net2Phone will sign on to GeoCities' Pages That Pay affiliates program. GeoCities' 3.5 million members will be able to put a Net2Phone link on their free home pages and earn a commission every time a click results in a Net2Phone subscription. GeoCities will guarantee that an undisclosed number of "homesteaders" become Net2Phone affiliates.

GeoCities members post about 32 million personal Web pages. Internet ad researcher Media Metrix found the GeoCities site drew 19 million unique viewers in January, giving it the fifth highest traffic rate on the Web that month.

"Both these deals will increase our distribution and help make our product ubiquitous," Rothberg said. He would not comment on whether the Netscape alliance increases the chances of a similar deal with America Online, which acquired Netscape last November.

The home networking market is set to explode, according to a report released last week by Dataquest. Based on the number of homes buying second computers and moves of companies such as 3Com, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, Intel and Diamond Multimedia, the report predicts that by 2002, more than 6.2 million homes will have some type of network, making the market worth more that $2 billion.

The report also predicts that in-home copper phone lines will be the dominant transport medium and telcos could become players with aggressive deployment of digital subscriber line technology.

"This is not a perfect solution, but in most homes in North America it will the easiest to implement," said John Armstrong, vice president of Dataquest and an author of the report. "High-speed access is going to be definite driver. There's a certain synergy of what you can do in the home and the use of broadband."