Arbinet to Provide Industry Standard Calling Code Management Service to ECTA
New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, January 11, 2006 – Arbinet-thexchange, Inc. [Nasdaq: ARBX], the leading electronic marketplace for trading, routing and settling communications capacity, has signed an Agreement with The European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA) to provide its AxcessCodeSM international calling code management service to the Association’s more than 150 members. The service gives users a standard set of code definitions to streamline transactions to route voice traffic from origin to final termination. AxcessCode is comprised of a database of more than 10,000 international calling code breakouts and includes Unique Market Identifiers (UMIs) for each global destination.
ECTA Chairman, Kevin Power, comments, "We are delighted to announce this agreement with Arbinet to offer its AxcessCode international calling code breakouts to our Members as part of our ongoing effort to promote competition. This service facilitates the establishment of trading partnerships between telecom buyers and suppliers and can help our members avoid the significant financial exposure created by international calling code misalignment. This service is a significant benefit provided to ECTA members as part of the standard membership package."
"This code system has been used by Arbinet Members, including all of the world’s 10 largest international carriers, to buy and sell more than 30 billion minutes of voice traffic to 1,000 markets worldwide since it’s introduction in 2001," states Curt Hockemeier, Arbinet President and CEO. "It has helped global carriers prevent the loss of millions of dollars from calling code mismatches and disputes. We are pleased to be working in partnership with such a respected organization as ECTA to help standardize these codes throughout the world."
The AxcessCode database is updated every two weeks, and carrier subscribers refer to the code release date to determine the codes in use at any given time. ECTA Members will be able to download the codes database at no charge each quarter for a year. Arbinet will sell subscriptions to the full service which includes the biweekly updates.
The service will be available to all ECTA members shortly at www.ectaportal.com. Arbinet will also offer a workshop on the service at ECTA’s April 2006 Spring Conference in Barcelona, Spain. For more information, visit www.axcesscode.com.
About Arbinet
Arbinet is the leading electronic market for trading, routing and settling communications capacity. Members of the exchange, consisting primarily of communications service providers, buy and sell voice calls and Internet capacity based on route quality and price through its centralized, efficient and liquid marketplace. Members place orders through a web-based interface. Its fully automated, highly scalable trading platform matches these orders using proprietary software and delivers them through state-of-the-art facilities.
About ECTA
The European Competitive Telecommunications Association is the leading pan-European pro-competitive trade association for European telecoms companies. Its objectives are to assist and encourage market liberalisation and competition through its communications programmes and regulatory efforts; represent the telecommunications industry to key government and regulatory bodies with "one clear voice" on key issues affecting competition; maintain a forum for networking and business development for its members throughout Europe; and assist new market entrants through pro-competitive policies and the provision of telecommunications industry content.
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120 Albany St. Tower II, Suite 450, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
phone: 732-509-9100, fax: 732-509-9101, website: www.arbinet.com.
