MeetingZone Deploys MetraTech to Speed Audio Conferencing Services to Market

MetraNet™ to Support Rapid Customer Growth, Introduction of New Service Offerings and Superior Customer Care

WALTHAM, Mass. and Oxford, England, Oct. 7, 2002 - MetraTech, a leading provider of billing, customer care and revenue sharing software, today announced that MeetingZone, a UK-based automated conferencing services provider, has deployed MetraNet™ to meet growing demand for its unique and fully automated reservationless audio conferencing services. MeetingZone chose MetraNet because it offers the only Web services-based billing platform uniquely capable of supporting complex multipoint transactions, like audio conferencing.

MeetingZone needed a highly flexible, scaleable, and powerful customer care and billing platform complete with multi-language and multi-currency support features to help achieve the efficiency and agility required to stay ahead in this fast moving environment. Since speed to market was also mission critical, MeetingZone chose cutting edge technology from MetraTech and leveraged Microsoft's ASP.NET, to deliver real world Web applications in record time. MetraNet's powerful Web services architecture and "configure, don't code" methodology provided MeetingZone with the power to quickly and easily integrate with other systems and fully deploy the billing solution, using internal IT resources along with MetraTech's professional services team, in less than six weeks.

"We needed a billing solution that would help us analyze customer data, develop new and innovative services, and get them to market in the fastest time possible," said Tim Duffy, CEO, MeetingZone. "We believe our service beats all others for ease of use and customer satisfaction. With MetraNet, we have the world's most advanced billing and customer care system. MetraNet allows us to offer our customers one of the most attractive service packages and pricing plans available on the marketplace."

Using MetraNet, MeetingZone now offers its customers a totally Web-based, interactive, brandable online information system. In addition to reducing customer support costs, MetraNet makes it easy for customers to charge costs back to divisions, departments and partners by capturing granular conferencing details such as participants, roles, connection types, features used, bridge time, transport time, port charges, cancellation fees and reseller participation.

Founded by telecom veterans Steve Gandy and Tim Duffy, MeetingZone provides reservationless conference calling services over public telephone networks. MeetingZone offers a broad range of control features accessible using the normal telephone, including the ability to record and play back conference calls. On the MeetingZone Web site, customers can, in real time, register using a credit card for an account and immediately make calls. Unlike other reservationless conferencing companies who provision their offerings manually, MeetingZone is able to deliver simple-to-use audio-conferencing services that are fully automated, instantaneous and affordable.

"This is another exciting opportunity for MetraTech in the high-growth conferencing market that requires state-of-the-art billing and customer care solutions to support its increasing customer demands," said Scott Swartz, president and CEO of MetraTech. "MetraTech will provide MeetingZone with the flexibility and scalability to support all its billing and customer care needs as it aggressively rolls-out its fully automated conferencing services. We are pleased that MeetingZone selected us as a strategic partner to help create valuable relationships with its customers through dependable and world-class billing and customer care."

About MeetingZone
MeetingZone is a new company dedicated to supplying great conference calls for business and private users at a highly competitive rate. Based in Oxford, UK, the company was formed in April 2002 by an international team of telecoms experts who identified the opportunity to bring something fresh and new to the audio conference call industry. MeetingZone is backed by £2 million of venture capital. The lead investor in the company is Springboard PLC, the UK's leading venture capital organization focusing on the support of new companies.

About MetraTech
MetraTech Corp. is a leading provider of billing, customer care and revenue sharing software for established and emerging communications service providers. The MetraNet™ XML-based billing platform easily integrates with existing infrastructure and third party applications and enables customers to turbocharge their IT assets to extend their capabilities and achieve a competitive advantage. With MetraNet, companies can dynamically offer new services as well as package their existing services in new ways through licensing or a fully outsourced solution. Only MetraTech provides pricing, revenue sharing and billing capabilities using XML and plug-and-play Web services. MetraTech is based in Waltham, Mass., with offices in Oxford, England. For more information, please visit www.metratech.com or call 781-839-8300.

MetraTech is a registered trademark, and the MetraTech logo is a trademark of MetraTech Corp. All rights reserved.

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