First competitive local exchange carrier to launch VOIP; 911 capable, highly reliable, available to residential consumers and small office/home offices

TORONTO, July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Sprint Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Call-Net Enterprises Inc., a leading provider of telecommunication services to households and businesses, today launched Sprint Canada Internet Phone Service™, its broadband phone service for households and small/home offices.

Starting at just $19.95 per month, Sprint Canada Internet Phone Service (IPS) uses voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology to transmit local and long distance calls over high speed Internet networks and Sprint Canada’s national local service network. The service is supported by the Company’s state-of-the-industry back office systems.

«Sprint Canada is pleased to offer Canada’s first competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) compliant broadband phone service,» said Bill Linton, chief executive officer, Sprint Canada. «While consumer awareness and take-up of voice over IP service is low, our research shows that consumers are more comfortable adopting a new technology from a trusted telecommunications company like Sprint Canada. Our approach is to continue to evolve our voice over IP product as the market matures and to use the service to grow our off-net consumer business.»

Sprint Canada Internet Phone Service works with any residential high speed Internet service, including light services offered by telephone digital subscriber line (DSL) or cable. The starter package includes a VOIP gateway, one telephone number and line that can travel with the customer wherever they can access high speed Internet service, an integrated four-port 100 megabits per second (mbps) Ethernet router and firewall.

The service works with a regular telephone handset and customers can keep their existing phone number in serviceable areas or add a new one and select their preferred area code and exchange. Sprint Canada provides the Internet protocol gateway at a cost of $75 including four months of basic service. The service is easy to install, and works right out of the box.

The service is available as a standalone product and includes all standard home phone features such as operator services, 911, 411, and 711. Call waiting, call display and voice mail are also available. IPS is also available as part of bundled package with local home phone service and Fido® wireless service.

«This service is ideal for parents sending their children to university, as a second household or small business line, for residential customers with a second home, or for heavy long distance users,» added Linton.

To order the service, consumers and small businesses can call 1–800–298–6939 or visit www.sprint.ca.

Sprint Canada was one of the first companies to offer competitive telecommunication services to Canadian consumers and businesses in 1986. It launched its local home and business service in 1999, expanding the number of markets in 2001. It remains Canada’s only competitive national telecommunications company offering local telephone service to both homes and businesses in most major markets. As of March 2004, Sprint Canada had more than 300,000 local home phone lines and business line equivalents in service.