JFAX Personal Telecom taps IBM Exec as its new chief technology officer.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1996--JFAX Personal Telecom, the rapidly-growing and critically-acclaimed Internet telecommunications service, announced today that it has named Dr. Anand Narasimhan, a well-respected IBM research scientist, as its Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Narasimhan, 30, will assume his post at the New York City-based JFAX effective October 1, 1996.

The move will add both top executive and technological expertise to JFAX as the company doubles its global network and expands the scope of its services.

Dr. Narasimhan, who worked at product development for IBM's Internet Division, brings JFAX unique expertise in Generalized Switched Telephone Networks (GSTN), wireless mobile communications and audio and speech coding techniques. He will focus on spearheading a broad enhancement of JFAX Personal Telecom services including integration with pagers, integration with cellular phones and Internet-age corporate voice-mail solutions.

JFAX creates a virtual office by delivering both voice-mail messages and faxes to e-mail users -- producing the first "universal e-mail in-box." The firm's proprietary technology links any phone and any fax with the 40 million users of electronic mail. A free, downloadable player / viewer is available at the JFAX World Wide Web site (http://www.jf ax.net) allowing subscribers to open fax files, listen to voice mail messages or use conventional Internet e-mail.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Narasimhan declared, "Since my first interaction with JFAX, I find that the company is based on inspired vision and extreme practicality, and I find the combination irresistible."

"Anand has the respect of his technological peers, the academic community, technology marketers and the financial community," said JFAX President Jaye Muller. "His management expertise, technological know-how and marketing savvy will be a critical part of JFAX's dramatic global expansion plans and new product endeavors."

Mr. Narasimhan, who began his career with IBM in 1990 as a Graduate Fellow, conducted research and design in GSTN and data network architecture at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. He developed technologies on five patented telecommunications, digital cellular and network devices, and six additional patents are pending on devices he helped develop in the area of Internet telephony, voice and audio data transfer and data network switching. He has published more than a dozen academic articles in technology trade publications and is known for his articulate presentation and public speaking abilities.

JFAX provides a quick, easy, all-encompassing service. As a customer dials a JFAX phone number to leave a message or send a fax, JFAX compresses the incoming message into a binary MIME-encoded e-mail attachment. A revolutionary "smart-routing" technology then delivers this binary file to a recipient's e-mail address anywhere in the world. Those wi th audio capabilities can listen to their voice mail recordings with the same high-standard delivery that is common to worldwide telecom services. These audio attachments, however, require far less disc space than conventional wave technology.

JFAX is the brainchild of musician Jaye Muller, who, while touring, became frustrated with constant lost faxes and missed voice mail messages. Committed to eliminating these problems and facilitating message retrieval, Muller put his recording career on hold to focus on developing a system that eases international communications.

Currently, JFAX Personal Telecom local numbers are available globally in New York, London, San Francisco, San Jose, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Chicago, Johannesburg and Cape Town are to be added shortly. A phone/fax number, including e-mail delivery of incoming voice-mail and faxes, costs customers $12.50 per mo nth. The company also offers users service with an optional U.S. toll-free number.

"JFAX is growing rapidly because we deliver the promise of the virtual office and the universal in-box right now," says Muller. "JFAX Personal Telecom makes fax machines, telephone answering machines and pre-Internet voice-mail systems obsolete for 40 million e-mail users. JFAX also allows those without e-mail access to communicate with frequent e-mail users."

Dr. Narasimhan holds a PhD. in Electrical Engineering, as well as a Masters of Science in Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He also holds a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering and a B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the College of Engineering, Madras India. Dr. Narasimhan resides in New York City and enjoys flamenco guitar, sailing and horseback riding.

CONTACT: Jeanne P. Meyer

Dan Klores Associates, New York

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