CallWave Inc. Announces FaxWave: Free Telephone Numbers For Receiving Personal Faxes Online.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 1999--

FaxWave Enables Consumers to Receive Faxes in Their E-mail Inboxes

Without a Dedicated Phone Line or Fax Machine

CallWave(sm) Monday announced the availability of its first service, FaxWave(sm), for private trial with distribution partners and targeted end-users.

CallWave is a new type of phone company focused on serving Internet-connected homes and individuals. The FaxWave service provides Internet users with free telephone numbers for receiving faxes without the expense of a traditional phone company fax line. FaxWave delivers faxes to the user's e-mail inbox.

FaxWave services will be generally available later in the first quarter. The company expects to enroll millions of FaxWave subscribers and launch additional phone services during 1999.

Receive a Fax Without a Fax Line or Fax Machine

"The service is unique because it will enable any home Internet user to receive a fax, regardless of whether they have a fax machine," said Mark Winther, group vice president, Worldwide Telecommunications, International Data Corp. (IDC).

"And if you have a fax machine but not a dedicated fax line, there's also the potential for missing a fax because someone is talking on the phone or surfing the Internet. CallWave's service not only removes that conflict, but it's free. Nothing could be easier!"

Applications for Consumers and Professionals

"We have identified numerous promising market segments for CallWave's FaxWave service," said Bob Dolan, president of CallWave. "There are 22 million U.S. Internet homes without fax capabilities or dedicated fax phone lines. These families need to receive faxes from friends, community groups, contractors, banks and others. FaxWave helps these families receive faxes at home without spending $200 to $300 a year on an additional line."

FaxWave will also enable today's mobile executives and telecommuters to realize significant cost savings. The ability to receive faxes online eliminates hotel fax charges. FaxWave also reduces or eliminates the need to add fax lines in remote or home offices. Corporations with dozens or hundreds of teleworkers could save thousands of dollars a year per worker.

Receive a Fax Without a Dedicated Fax Phone Line

"Alternative fax delivery makes absolute sense in the Internet age," said Paul Stockford, director of Communications Research with Cahners In-Stat Group, a high-technology research group in Scottsdale, Ariz. "FaxWave offers a practical and cost-effective alternative to installing a second phone line for receiving faxes."

How it Works

FaxWave delivers all faxes sent to a personal fax number to an e-mail address. Windows users use a standard Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) Windows supplied viewer to review and print received faxes. For many customers, no new software needs to be installed. Faxes can be read using other viewers on Apple Macintosh (Nasdaq:AAPL), SUN (Nasdaq:SUNW), IBM (NYSE:IBM) and HP UNIX (NYSE:HP) systems.

The FaxWave service uses Windows NT running on fault tolerant Compaq (NYSE:CPQ) Proliant servers. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.callwave.com.

CallWave Inc. is a closely held company. Hermes Investment Group Inc. is the lead investor in CallWave. Business development inquiries should be directed to David Hofstatter at [e-mail] or by telephone to 805/898-1834. Media inquiries should be directed to Antonia Lantz Inman, [e-mail], 805/895-1916, or Theresa Smith, [e-mail], Pathway Communications, 818/704-8481.

Note to Editors: CallWave(sm) and FaxWave(sm) are service marks of CallWave Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 1999 CallWave Inc.