Vonage® And Staples® Are The First To Offer Broadband Telephony

Vonage® And Staples® Are The First To Offer Broadband Telephony

Edison, N.J., August 24, 2004 – Vonage, the leading broadband phone company, today announced Staples, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLS) as the first national office supply chain to offer Vonage services in all of its approximately 1,200 stores throughout the United States and online at www.staples.com.

High-speed Internet customers, who have a standard telephone, can sign up for Vonage service by purchasing one of two Vonage starters kit at Staples, both featuring Linksys devices. Either device will allow customers to make unlimited calls in the US and Canada for one low, flat monthly rate starting at $14.99.

“Staples’ national roll-out of Vonage’s service is evidence of the transformation of the telecommunications industry and the need to make broadband telephony more readily available to the general consumer market,” stated Daniel Elwell, director of New Business Development for Vonage. “We are looking forward to a successful sales relationship with the world’s largest office supply chain.”

What is Broadband Phone Service?

Broadband phone service works by turning voice calls into data packets and sending them over the Internet. When the data packs approach their destination, they are reassembled, and delivered in the form of a traditional call. Vonage customers require only a high-speed Internet connection, a Linksys Voip terminal adapter or router and a regular home telephone to utilize the service.

The company offers rate plans, ranging from $14.99 for residential customers to $49.99 for small businesses. All rate plans include a full set of features, including caller ID, call waiting, voicemail, call forwarding, and emergency calling service. In addition, Vonage offers a number of enhanced voicemail and area code selection features: Voicemail: Vonage offers three options for checking voicemail: you can dial into a menu and listen over the phone; listen to voicemail online, or listen to voicemail in your email box (a .wav file will be sent to your account).
Area Code Selection: Vonage customers can choose any area code, regardless of location.

Vonage’s technology offers substantial benefits to customers, including:

Huge cost savings
Increased functionality
Improved call quality
Free calls to other Vonage subscribers
Improvements in employee productivity and mobility
Service portability, wherever broadband is available

The company continues to enhance its service and features. “Offering Vonage in our stores enables us to build on the success of the Networking category. The Vonage service makes it easy for our customers to save money by optimizing the use of the broadband pipe,” said Mary Doyle, buyer, Staples. “The relationship with Vonage is an exciting new business opportunity, which allows Staples to further its efforts of offering a wide range of products and services to meet the needs of our customers.”

About Vonage®

Vonage is redefining communications by offering consumers and small businesses an affordable alternative to traditional telephone service. The fastest growing telephony company in North America, Vonage's service area encompasses more than 1900 active rate centers in over 125 North American markets. Vonage is sold directly through Vonage and retail partners such as Amazon.com, RadioShack, Best Buy, Circuit City, Staples and Office Depot. Wholesale partners such as EarthLink, ARMSTRONG®, Advanced Cable Communications and the Coldwater Board of Public Utilities resell the Vonage broadband phone service under their own unique brands. With more than 235,000 lines in service, Vonage continues to add more than 25,000 lines per month to its network. Over 5 million calls per week are made using Vonage, the easy-to-use, feature-rich, flat rate phone service. Vonage is headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. For more information about Vonage's products and services, please visit Vonage or call 1-VONAGE-HELP. Vonage®, Vonage Digital Voice^TM, Toll Free Plus^SM and Virtual Phone Number^SM are trademarks of Vonage Holdings Corp.

About Staples

Staples, Inc. invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and today is the world's largest office products retailer. With 60,000 talented associates, the company is committed to making it easy to buy a wide range of office products, including supplies, technology, furniture, and business services. With 2003 sales of $13 billion, Staples serves consumers and businesses ranging from home-based businesses to Fortune 500 companies in the US, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Headquartered outside of Boston, Staples operates approximately 1,600 office superstores and also serves its customers through mail order catalog, e-commerce and contract businesses. More information is available at www.staples.com.