PRIMUS Canada extends TalkBroadband (TM) service for consumers and
businesses to include local numbers in Victoria, Winnipeg, Quebec
City, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Halifax, Mississauga (Cooksville)
and St. Catharines.
- 911 emergency service to be provided in all TalkBroadband local
calling areas
- Now more Canadian consumers have a true alternative to traditional
local service, starting at $15.95 per month with purchase of voice
gateway hardware
- New TalkBroadband long distance package allows calling to 20 overseas
countries including China, Hong Kong, France, Germany and the UK for
as low as 2.5 cents per minute
- New Unlimited Bundle introduced for $45.95 per month, including all
local features and unlimited calling within Canada and to the U.S.
TORONTO, April 5 /CNW/ - PRIMUS Telecommunications Canada Inc. (PRIMUS
Canada) has announced 911 emergency telephone service for its TalkBroadband
local service customers and added calling areas for eight more cities, from
Halifax to Victoria.
PRIMUS Canada, the wholly-owned subsidiary of McLean, Virginia-based
PRIMUS Telecommunications Group, Incorporated (Nasdaq: PRTL), a global
telecommunications services provider offering bundled voice, data, Internet,
digital subscriber line (DSL), voice-over-Internet protocol (VOIP), web
hosting, enhanced virtual private network (VPN) applications and other value
added services, is expanding its successful TalkBroadband local phone service
to consumers and businesses in Victoria, Winnipeg, Quebec City, Halifax and
the Ontario cities of London, Kitchener-Waterloo, St. Catharines and the
Cooksville area of Mississauga. This means that with the addition of these
cities, high-speed Internet users can keep their existing phone number or
select a new one from 15 major centres across the country with the
TalkBroadband phone service.
Emergency 911 calling is now accessible with TalkBroadband for local
service customers in 14 of the 15 TalkBroadband local calling areas, and will
be available imminently in Halifax.
"The addition of 911 service moves TalkBroadband to the forefront as a
secure and cost-effective alternative to local service from the traditional
providers," says Ted Chislett, president, PRIMUS Canada. "By expanding
TalkBroadband local calling to eight more cities, PRIMUS Canada is the only
provider delivering the benefits of competition to residential and business
phone customers coast-to-coast."
TalkBroadband provides greater than 25 percent savings on average to
consumers and home offices, compared with traditional phone service. Now
starting at just $15.95 a month, TalkBroadband uses leading edge Voice Over
Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology to transform high-speed Internet service
into a local telephone connection simply, reliably and securely.
Any high-speed Internet user in Canada, or anywhere in the world - no
matter where they are located - can take advantage of TalkBroadband by
selecting an area code and number from one of the 15 local calling areas
available. For example, consumers who live in Halifax (902) can select a
Vancouver (604) area code and number, ensuring that calls to and from
Vancouver are not subject to long distance charges.
TalkBroadband Benefits and Features
-----------------------------------
- Customers receive a home telephone number that can travel with them
wherever there is access to high-speed Internet service (telephone DSL
or cable). So a customer could go away for the weekend or overseas for
a week and they could still be reached at their home phone number.
- Customers have the option to keep their existing telephone number (in
serviceable areas) or add a new one, and can choose their area code.
- TalkBroadband is easy to set up, without the hassle and expense of a
service call.
- The service works with a regular telephone: PRIMUS Canada provides a
Broadband Voice Gateway box that connects easily to the phone and the
subscriber's existing high-speed Internet modem.
- Customers can surf the Internet while talking on the phone.
- A wide selection of features is available, including Call Answer, Call
Display and Call Waiting.
- TalkBroadband offers additional features not available on traditional
phone services such as Call Transfer and 5-way Calling.
- TalkBroadband offers free long distance calling between PRIMUS Canada
Talk Broadband customers on their Broadband Voice service.
- TalkBroadband customers can also select additional numbers and area
codes for a small additional monthly charge, providing the customer a
local presence in other areas of the country.
TalkBroadband, now available with local numbers for Toronto, Ottawa,
Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton in addition to the eight
cities announced today, will continue to be extended to other major Canadian
centres. PRIMUS Canada also will introduce broadband phone services tailored
specifically for larger business customers, at significant cost savings over
traditional commercial phone service.
Residential Pricing
-------------------
- Basic service has been reduced to $15.95 per month, the Power Bundle
reduced to $25.95 per month and the Ultimate Bundle to $30.95 per
month for customers who purchase the TalkBroadband Voice Gateway for
$139.95.
- Primus has added a new Unlimited Bundle for $45.95 per month,
including unlimited calling within Canada and to the U.S., and all
local features except alternate number and unlisted number ($41.95 per
month for customers who purchase the TalkBroadband Voice Gateway).
- For customers choosing not to purchase the Gateway hardware upfront,
pricing remains unchanged as follows:
- Basic phone service is just $19.95 per month, 15 percent less
on average than the basic service customers pay now for
traditional residential phone service.
- PRIMUS Canada's TalkBroadband also lowers the cost of adding
features, so customers can get the most out of their home phone
service. Bundles including basic phone service plus Call
Answer, Call Waiting and Call Display start at just $29.95 per
month for the Power Bundle, with savings of 30 percent on
average over traditional phone service. Also available is the
Ultimate Bundle, including basic service plus 6 features, for
$34.95 per month.
- TalkBroadband offers great savings on long distance plans, with flat
rate calling as low as $2.95 per month for 60 Canada/U.S. minutes and
unlimited Canada/U.S. calling for just $20 per month. Subscribers
automatically receive PRIMUS Canada's best available overseas rates.
- The $39 activation fee continues to be waived, as a special
introductory offer.
Commercial Pricing
------------------
- Basic service has been reduced to $25.95 per month, the Power Bundle
reduced to $32.95 per month and the Elite Bundle to $38.95 per month
for customers who purchase the TalkBroadband Voice Gateway for
$139.95.
- Pricing for customers choosing not to purchase the Gateway remains
unchanged at just $29.95 per month for Basic Service, $36.95 per month
for the Power Bundle and $42.95 per month for the Elite Bundle.
- Existing TalkBroadband commercial long distance options start at
5 cents per minute, with better rates available for larger volumes of
calls.
- The new pricing options provide savings of at least 22 percent over
comparable traditional commercial phone service.
New TalkBroadband Long Distance Offers
--------------------------------------
Primus Canada today also introduced new long distance pricing for
TalkBroadband residential subscribers.
Subscribers can now select a long distance plan offering calling to 20
overseas countries for as low as 2.5 cents per minute through a package
providing 400 international minutes for just $10 per month.
The plan includes calls to Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark,
France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
South Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United
Kingdom. (Additional minutes are priced at 5 cents per minute).
As well, the existing Canada/U.S. calling package allowing 250 minutes
for $10 will be increased to 400 minutes, at the same low price.
911 Service and TalkBroadband
-----------------------------
As with regular telephone service, emergency 911 calling is accessible
only for the fixed location where the service is registered. The TalkBroadband
local service customer must choose a phone number within the telephone
exchange (area code and first 3 digits) associated with his or her service
location. 911 calling is not accessible when the customer uses the
TalkBroadband service away from their registered service location, nor is it
available when a customer chooses a phone number outside of the exchange
associated with their service location.
About PRIMUS Canada
-------------------
For more information on PRIMUS Telecommunications Canada Inc. and PRIMUS
Telecommunications Group, please go to
http://www.primustel.ca/en/about/press.html
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