Net2Phone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Business Communications Services |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Howard Jonas |
| Headquarters | Newark, New Jersey USA |
Number of locations | US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Columbia, Chile, Brazil, Spain, Uruguay, Costa Rica (2023) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Jonah Fink - Chief Executive Officer
|
| Brands | UNITE, uContact, Huddle |
| Revenue | $58.2 million (2022) |
| Members | 325,000 (2022) |
Number of employees | 500+ (2022) |
| Parent | IDT Corporation |
| Website | www |
net2phone is a Cloud Communications provider offering cloud based telephony services to businesses worldwide. The company is a subsidiary of IDT Corporation.
net2phone was founded in 1990 by telecom entrepreneur Howard Jonas, the chairman and chief executive officer of net2phone’s parent company, IDT Corporation. The company was an early pioneer in the commercialization of voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) technologies leveraging the global carrier business and infrastructure of IDT and focusing on transitioning businesses and consumers from PSTN, traditional telecom interconnects, to Voice over IP.
On July 30, 1999, during the dot-com bubble, the company became a public company via an initial public offering, raising $81 million. Shares rose 77% on the first day of trading to $26 per share.[1] After completion of the IPO, IDT owned 57% of the company.[2] Within a few weeks, the shares increased another 100% in value, to $53 per share.[2]
In March 2000, in a transaction facilitated by IDT CEO Howard Jonas, a consortium of telecommunications companies led by AT&T announced a $1.4 billion investment for a 32% stake in the company, buying shares for $75 each. The transaction was completed in August 2000.[3] AOL had expressed an interest in buying all or part of the company but was not agreeable to the price.[4]
In August 2000, Jonathan Fram, president of the company, left the company to join eVoice.[5][6]
In September 2000, the company formed Adir Technologies, a joint venture with Cisco Systems.[7][8] In March 2002, the company sued Cisco for breach of contract.[9]
In February 2002, the company announced 110 layoffs, or 28% of its workforce.[10]
In October 2004, Liore Alroy became chief executive officer of the company.[11]
On March 13, 2006, IDT Corporation acquired the shares of the company that it did not already own for $2.05 per share.[12]
In 2015, net2phone began providing Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) targeted to the SMB market. net2phone’s UCaaS initiative was developed by the Company’s management team led by its President, Jonah Fink.
Over the next 3 years, net2phone continued to expand its UCaaS offering into Argentina, Brazil,[13] Colombia, Mexico, and Peru leveraging its local infrastructure, communication licenses and local staff all while selling in the respective market’s local currency and language sets.
