• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

BT Plc Enters into Agreement With WorldGate to Purchase Ojo(TM) Personal Video Phones; Ojo to Be Available to BT's Customers Around the World: First Launch Expected in July 2006 Throughout the UK

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 June 2006, 15:00 CDT

BT plc (BT) and WorldGate Communications Inc. announced today that they have entered into an agreement providing for BT's purchase of WorldGate's Ojo(TM) Shadow personal video phones for resale to customers around the world. The agreement provides for BT to begin selling Ojo immediately in conjunction with the launch of BT's Club Complete platform.

"BT has evaluated Ojo for some time and believes that Ojo will be an attractive new offering for its wholesale customers as well as their end user consumers," said George Robertson, Business Development Manager for BT. "The opportunity to offer video telephony which has high quality video and near-perfect voice and video synchronization has been very desirable and Ojo has proven to be the product which best delivers the quality consumers demand. The growing interest in and adoption of broadband products has put BT at the forefront of innovative offerings. Video telephony is a natural extension of the communications revolution and BT expects to be a leader in the revolution."

Ojo is the first broadband video phone to feature a friendly and intuitive display that facilitates realistic, face-to-face, personal communications experiences over DSL and cable broadband networks. BT customers can simply connect their Ojo personal video phone to their broadband networks to experience true-to-life video phone calls.

"We believe that BT can lead the video telephony revolution through their worldwide presence, innovation and brand awareness," said Hal Krisbergh, Chairman and CEO of WorldGate. "We are pleased to see a service provider with BT's credibility and vision take this important step in the next generation of broadband offerings and believe BT will revolutionize communications in all the places it does business with their new offerings along with Ojo."

More information on WorldGate and Ojo personal video phones can be accessed at www.WGATE.com.

ABOUT WORLDGATE COMMUNICATIONS INC.

WorldGate Communications, Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes personal video phones. WorldGate's products will be marketed to consumers through cable, DSL, VoIP and satellite service providers as well as through retail stores worldwide under the Ojo brand name. Ojo personal video phones offer high quality, real-time, two-way video communications with video messaging and an optional cordless handset. Ojo is easy to install, and is as easy to operate as a regular telephone; it plugs into a broadband connection, no PC is required, and uses the existing phone number. Ojo (PVP 1000) also makes conventional (or VoIP) voice-only phone calls using the existing household telephone service. Ojo's iconic and functional design features an eye-level screen and camera, a self-viewer, a full-duplex speakerphone, photo-based caller ID and phonebook and one-touch controls for video and voice privacy. Ojo video phone is designed to conform to industry standard protocols (SIP) and utilizes enhancements to the latest technology for voice and video compression (H.264) to achieve superior quality at data rates as low as 100 Kbps. WorldGate has been awarded a patent for its distinctive design and has patents pending for its specialized technology. This unique combination of functional design, advanced technology and use of broadband networks provides real-time video communication experiences that bring families and friends closer together, and for the first time provides consumers with a high-quality, affordable video phone. More information on WorldGate and the Ojo video phone can be accessed at www.wgate.com.

WorldGate is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol WGAT. WorldGate and Ojo are trademarks of WorldGate Service Inc.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions including, without limitation, expressions using the terminology "may", "will", "believes", "plans", "expects", "anticipates", "predicts", "forecasts", and expressions which otherwise reflect something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the timely development and market acceptance of products and technologies, the ability to fund operations or raise additional capital if needed and the other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The actual results may differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. No obligation is undertaken to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category