Truphone adds 260 hotspots to its network with Surf and Sip

Large latte? Would you like mobile phone calls with that?

Truphone today announced the addition of 260 hotspots to the expanding estate of locations from where Truphone can be used to make free and low-cost mobile phone calls over Wi-Fi and the Internet. The 260 hotspots, operated by wireless internet service provider Surf and Sip, are currently sited within Caffe Nero coffee houses, with more locations planned to follow.

Core facts

1. Using a Surf and Sip Wi-Fi hotspot is completely straightforward, with no registration, sign-up process or need to enter credit card details. Truphone customers simply run the Truphone Wizard once to log on and begin making calls.
2. Currently, Truphone is available for a range of handsets including Nokia's E-series handsets and several N-series handsets. Owners of a compatible handset can get Truphone simply by texting the word 'TRU' to 07624 000000 or by visiting the Truphone web site.
3. Truphone calls from Surf and Sip Wi-Fi hotspots are charged at just 3p/minute more than Truphone's standard published rates. Under Truphone's present price promotion (valid until at least the end of December 2007) this means that Truphone call charges from a Surf and Sip hotspot are:
   - 3p/minute to landlines in 40 countries
   - 3p/minute to cellphones USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong and Singapore
   - 18p/minute or less to EU mobiles, with no connection charge.
4. Surf and Sip provides high-speed wireless Internet access in cafes, hotels, restaurants and other high traffic public establishments.

Quotes

Chris Isaacs, Truphone's business development director, said:

• "Making mobile calls over their coffee is what many people do anyway, but now it costs less. And, because each Surf and Sip location appears the same to a Truphone handset, Truphone will even automatically log on the next time you walk into a Surf and Sip hotspot - even if it's actually a new location to you. Your Truphone handset is really starting to look after your wallet."
• "We're also doing something new by removing the barriers to people using public Wi-Fi hotspots and making it easy. We don't make people sign up to anything, or enter credit card details, or do anything that makes it unattractive. It's easy: people need only to run the Truphone Wizard once, and then start making mobile phone calls while they wait for their coffee to cool down."
• "Truphone is good for both Wi-Fi hotspot operators and it's good for mobile phone users - especially those that like to chat over a great coffee."

Rick Ehrlinspiel, CEO at Surf and Sip, said:

• "Truphone and Surf and Sip are giving people what they want: low cost calls, on phones they like, from places they want to be."

Links

• Picture: Caffe Nero coffee house
• Website: Surf and Sip
• Website: Truphone
• Picture: Chris Isaacs, Truphone

Truphone shortlisted for Red Herring 100 Global Awards 2007

Red Herring Magazine has announced that Truphone has been shortlisted for the Red Herring 100 Global 2007 Awards, which celebrate the world's most promising private technology ventures.

Red Herring 100 winners and finalists from North America, Europe and Asia of the last three years were eligible for this award. The Red Herring editorial team used a very competitive process to whittle down this pool of 1800 eligible promising companies to the 200 finalists of this first-time award. Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria such as financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy, and ecosystem integration.

James Tagg, Truphone's CEO, said: "It's a great privilege for Truphone to be identified as one of the 200 most promising private technology companies in the world. It is testament to the work that we have done and continue to do in changing the world of mobile communications."

Joel Dreyfuss, Editor-in-Chief of Red Herring, said: "The 200 finalists we selected from around the world are all excellent contenders. They are exceptional companies with smart and innovative platforms that attest to the importance of technology in today's global economy."

Notes to editors

1. Red Herring Global is an exclusive event honoring cutting-edge private technology companies from across the world. The event brings together an elite roster of entrepreneurial and global venture investment firms to showcase excellence in innovation. It features keynote discussions, roundtable panels and networking events designed for participants to make connections and learn what it takes to achieve the best worldwide in business and technology.
2. The names of the 200 companies short-listed as finalists for the "Red Herring 100 Global 2007" can be found online here.
3. The finalists companies will be celebrated at the Red Herring Global event in Seattle,WA, between December 3rd-5th. The 100 winners will be announced at the Award Ceremony on December 4th.

About Red Herring
Red Herring is a global media company uniting the world's best high technology innovators, venture investors and business decision makers in a variety of forums: a leading innovation magazine; an online daily technology news service; technology research, and major events for technology leaders around the globe. Red Herring provides an insider's access to the global innovation economy, featuring unparalleled insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy. For more information, visit www.redherring.com.

Media contact for Red Herring
Xenia Von Wedel
Terpin Communication Inc.
Tel: + 1 310 821 6100
Email: xenia@terpin.com