23 February 2009
gotalk launches THE INTERNATIONAL MOBILE CHALLENGE – a brand new mobile product – 3G My Cap mobile plan.

13 November 2008
gotalk launches “Xmas Cracker” Telco Price War

2 March 2008
gotalk offers to pay triple the monthly difference to any customer - proving gotalk VoIP with Naked DSL  is best in market.

13 February 2008
gotalk launches agressive Naked DSL plans

16 January 2008
gotalk and Hi Speed kiosks form partnership to offer VoIP in shopping centres 

16 January 2008
Telco and homeless teen charity sign unusual fund raising agreement

10 January 2008
Betta Electrical chain to carry full range of gotalk's award winning products

8 December 2007
gotalk launches Xmas VoIP War

3 December 2007
gotalk launches direct Engin VoIP attack

20 November 2007
gotalk launches new prepaid mobile caps

15 October 2007
gotalk/cardcall have been appointed a distributor for Telstra's prepaid products

8 October 2007
gotalk launches new range of postpaid mobile plans and caps

26 September 2007
gotalk/cardcall signs exclusive telecommunications deal with Blackhawk

29 August 2007
gotalk launches 3 new VoIP plans: goVoIP Aussie pack, Value pack and World pack  

20 August 2007
gotalk expands ethnic telecommunications market penetration 

13 August 2007
As an industry first, calling card rates are now available as a postpaid service in Australia

2 August 2007
gotalk launches Skype attack in Australia and New Zealand

23 July 2007
Steve Picton, gotalk CEO wins Queensland Technology and Communications Entrepreneur Of the Year 2007

1 June 2007
gotalk buys Telstra's ‘Say G’day’ and ‘Super Buzz’ international calling cards

26 April 2007
D-Link signs gotalk broadband/VoIP partnership

PRESS RELEASE: 24 February 2010

gotalk Provides A Huge 65% In Savings For Happy Business Customers

• gotalk reaches out to Australian Businesses, ensuring they benefit from the latest VoIP technology.
• gotalk’s dramatic cost saving “step change” technology for small and medium business customers can save up to 65% on national and international calls, and calls to mobiles.
• gotalk’s Multiline VoIP allows SME Business customers with a PBX to use the internet to make these same calls, with huge savings on call costs, while maintaining call quality even at times of high network usage.
• gotalk’s Business VoIP has been enjoying over 300% growth in revenue and services in the second half of 2009, due to a strong uptake by SME Business customers.
(For more information please call PR Karen Scott 07 5553 6808 or gotalk CEO Steve Picton 0416 269 177; – or go to www.gotalk.com.au/Business )

It’s not all gloom and doom in the telecommunications industry in terms of customer service and keeping customers happy. Over the past 14 months, gotalk has been working hard to let businesses know about the great cost savings that VoIP can bring through its VoIP multi-line services.  Allen Lawson, National Channel Partner Manager for gotalk says that “this technology enables PBX business customers to make large savings because you no longer need all your PBX trunks, and you can enjoy low VoIP calling rates to local, national, international and mobile calling destinations.”

Innovative Trans Tasman telco gotalk has been providing market leading VoIP (internet telephony) services since 2005 and won the prestigious Money Magazine 2009 “Cheapest VoIP Plan – Business User” for a SOHO VoIP plan - providing further evidence of gotalk’s on-going commitment to best value VoIP solutions,” gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today. 

“At gotalk, we recognised the need to provide business customers with a complete business solution that is fully supported, as well as providing cost savings. There are some telcos that don’t want to know if a hardware or systems failure takes place, leaving the business itself trying to sort out who is responsible for fixing any issues. To gotalk, that is unacceptable and is a key reason why gotalk’s approach from day one has been that of partnering with system integrators who have experience in the design, implementation and on going management of business grade VoIP networks. This level of expertise, coupled with gotalk’s range of premium VoIP solutions and its commitment to also work with the customer ensures that a tailored solution can be formulated and rolled out,” Mr. Lawson said.

“Our customers appreciate the fact that we take the time to understand their specific requirements and design a system that not only delivers the tools that they need to run their business effectively, but at the same time drastically reduce costs. This partnership structure has been a big success in achieving our key objective of keeping our customers happy. We understand that every business is uniquely different and you can’t pigeon hole them into a standard solution.”

Lawson goes on to say, “as an award winner in providing cheap VoIP plans, gotalk has been going out to businesses with one clear message – ‘we’ll show you how you can save up to 65% on your normal call costs’.”

gotalk has many happy customers enjoying its business VoIP solutions. This message has even reached remote Australia, with Mount Isa Skills Association in Northern Queensland benefiting from the latest in what VoIP has to offer.

Reaching Remote Australian Businesses

Mount Isa Skills Association’s is a not for profit organisation that seeks to meet the training and employment related assistance to jobseekers and employers within the region. It employs over 150 staff and operates twelve sites across Northern Queensland and in remote areas such as Doomadgee, Normanton and Mornington Island.

Mount Isa Skills Association wanted to create a multi-site structure, improve functionality and productivity, reduce increasing communication costs, call other sites at no cost, and do all of this cost-effectively in a reduced payback period. As well as ensuring IT was capable of self-management and maintenance.

Daryl Abell the groups Operations Manager for Mount Isa Skills Association considered looking at what VoIP could do for their business and contacted gotalk for a solution.

According to Mr Abell, “Mount Isa Skills Association looked at many telephony companies but gotalk really offered the complete solution and technology options to suit our needs. Selecting the right integration partner was important to us and Harrisontech, a gotalk integrator, impressed us with their knowledge and were clearly up to date on the latest technology.  Harrisontech designed a configuration that catered for our exact needs with flexibility and functionality we required”.

Abell goes on to say, “The new system was a huge technological lift for Mount Isa Skills Association, it has delivered many new functions into the business, and we are still developing it. Functions such as call forwarding to another site, messaging, line ID, voicemail and call lists help run the business more efficiently. Now calling or transferring a call to another branch regardless how remote is free, plus we can have multiple calls being made between sites at once. The call quality is rich and clear and equally as good as the old Telstra lines. The VoIP operates over a broadband ADSL service channel that ensures the service is consistent and maintains quality with some standard PSTN lines integrated as failover should there be an internet outage of some type.”

Abell is a happy telecommunications customer, “we are happy and very impressed with what gotalk and Harrisontech provided as a solution. They are professional, so doing business with them is great. If we call for advice or assistance we get prompt genuine care and concern. We have twelve sites in total to do and have had no issues so far and are extremely confident in rolling this out into all of our other sites.

Overall we are impressed with the team approach in getting sites provisioned. The savings for Mount Isa Skills Association are actually closer to 70 per cent on call savings, but we have redundant traditional lines in place to ensure business continuity in case of our internet connection going down.”
gotalk multi-line VoIP plans are detailed at www.gotalk.com.au/Business

PRESS RELEASE: 9 October 2009

PRESS RELEASE: 5 September 2009

Australasian telco, gotalk, today announced the launch of a new mobile phone service with aggressively priced international calls it claims are some of the lowest available in Australia.

gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today that the new mobile service combined cost effectiveness and convenience, particularly for those making international calls.

“gotalk mobile offers rates that we believe are some of the lowest in the Australian market, starting as low as 1c per minute (plus flagfall) for calls to overseas numbers made between 2-3am on the NightTalk Plan and 12.5c for an international SMS on the Straight Talk Plan.  These international rates are combined with highly competitive rates for calls and SMS to Australian numbers.  For example, on our Straight Talk plan, customers can call for only 20c per minute (plus flagfall) to Australian landlines or mobiles and SMS for 12.5c”, said Mr Picton.

“gotalk mobile is Australia’s first mobile service which allows customers to make calls from their home phone or other fixed line, using their mobile credit, making it more convenient than existing services in the market.

gotalk mobile builds on gotalk’s 10 plus years of experience in the phonecard market and has been designed to appeal to existing users of mobile or phonecard services, and to be most appealing to ethnic communities in Australia - a market we believe has not been well serviced by the major mobile carriers.  We have a multi-lingual call centre, user guides and website to ensure these communities do not feel overwhelmed by either language or technology.  It is estimated that 1 in 3 people currently living in Australia’s major cities were born overseas - in addition to the international students and tourists - who call friends and family overseas on a regular basis,” Mr. Picton said.

Using the Vodafone 3G network infrastructure, the new gotalk mobile service does not require long term contracts, is available on prepaid or a monthly account, and also comes with a number of innovative mobile telecommunications “firsts”:

• gotalk prepaid mobile customers will be able to use their prepaid credit for calls made from their mobile or their fixed line phone.

• Australia’s first prepaid mobile product that can be topped up via an electronic swipe card without entering complicated PIN numbers, available at over 10,000 outlets across Australia.

“All of which means that the new gotalk mobile is user friendly, simple to join, and easy to operate while saving you money” Mr. Picton said.

    
Product overview:

gotalk mobile has 3 plans that allow customers to call the world and Australia direct from their mobile at low cost rates:

•        Straight Talk with 24/7 flat rates, this plan allows customers to call any Australian mobile or landline for 20c per minute (plus flagfall) and customers can text to overseas or Australian numbers for 12.5c.

•        Night Talk is for those customers wanting to enjoy lower international night time rates direct from their mobile. They can call overseas from as little as 1c per minute (plus flagfall) during Happy Hour (2-3am, conditions apply).

•        Big Talk offers great value Caps, which allow customers to use all of their included Cap value to SMS or call family and friends, whether those family and friends are overseas or in Australia. Big Talk also offers a range of Cap levels up to a $50 plan that comes with a huge $330 of included value.

PRESS RELEASE: 24 April 2009

“One of the most frustrating and frequently reported problems by family broadband users today is the inability of parents to control – and therefore to limit – the download use of game playing children using up the entire household broadband data allowance well before the end of the month”, gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today.

“So gotalk has come up with an innovative solution – a password protected Data Reserve which can only be accessed by the parent account holder”, Mr. Picton said. “In fact it is a great feature for anyone who shares their broadband connection with young or old”.

“The gotalk Data Reserve ring fences 20% of the peak monthly allowance, which is set aside (reserved) and can only be unlocked by the account holder. Even if the other 80% of download allowance has been used by other family members, the parent account holder can go to the gotalk website, login to their account and unshape their broadband plan for 30, 60, 90 or more minutes and use their remaining 20% Data Reserve,” Picton said.

“Think of it like the reserve fuel tank of a four-wheel drive”.

“The fuel gauge may say empty but you know that there's still some more fuel there. This won't be an extra service — it is included as part of gotalk's standard broadband offering at no extra cost”.

The new gotalk Data Reserve feature will allow parents to control – and enjoy - a full speed internet experience prior to their next month’s data allowance becoming available.

“The password protected Data Reserve is in addition to the Data Block feature recently released which enables customers who have been shaped (slowed down) to purchase additional Data Blocks for as little as $5 to unshape either their peak or off-peak usage by topping up their standard data allowance,” Mr. Picton said.

“We believe our Data Reserve will position gotalk as a market leader in the delivery of innovative broadband services.”

“What’s more it will help save the family budget in tough economic times. gotalk’s Data Reserve adds extra value into our great range of broadband plans which are all designed to save you money,” Picton said.

In summary:

1. By password protecting 20% of their peak allowance for account holder use only, gotalk’s new Data Reserve feature lets parents use their broadband at full speed even if the kids have gamed away the remaining 80% of their monthly allowance.
2. Mum and Dad can unshape their broadband service for varying periods of time to enable them to enjoy the full speed benefits of gotalk Super Speed broadband. At other times, family members receive a shaped (slowed) service.
3. gotalk’s Data Reserve feature enables broadband plan usage to be controlled, avoiding the need to change to more costly plans with larger data allowances.
4. gotalk’s recently released Data Blocks allow customers to purchase more peak or off-peak data allowance at any time for a small fee to keep their plan running at full speed, should Mum and Dad run out of their Data Reserve in a busy month.    
5. gotalk’s new Super Speed broadband plans offer either 8Mbps or 20Mbps plans to 90% of Australian homes and businesses.
     
Call gotalk on 1800 GOTALK (1800 468 255) or visit www.gotalk.com.au  to find out more about our Super Speed broadband plans, Data Blocks and Data Reserves.

NOTE: gotalk is also now reselling Telstra ADSL2+, giving access for 90% of Australians to gotalk 8Mbps and ADSL2+ services. Picton says "The combination of the quality and reach of the Telstra broadband network and gotalk's innovation and low cost delivery offers the very best consumer proposition to the widest possible audience".


PRESS RELEASE: 24 April 2009

“gotalk is gearing up for what is expected to be high demand for its new multiline VoIP service, and has partnered with leading Systems Integrators and Value Added Resellers to ensure a customized solution fully meeting customer communications needs is delivered nationally,” said Mr Picton.
“gotalk’s Super Speed Broadband is the perfect companion to the gotalk Multiline VoIP service - our goVoIP Business customers can now choose from 21 broadband plans priced from a low $29.95 per month. Our Super Speed 8Mbps and ADSL2+ plans are now available to more than 90% of the Australian businesses, ensuring efficient communications at our lowest possible prices.” Picton said.
gotalk multi-line VoIP plans are detailed here.


PRESS RELEASE: 23 February 2009

gotalk signs wholesale Superfast Broadband deal with Telstra – targets regional Australia – including “neglected” Tasmania.

CEO says new deal will offer low cost, speed efficient broadband services to both Metro and the Bush “well in advance of any future National Broadband Network being built today.”

Fast growing Trans Tasman telco gotalk has signed a wholesale Broadband ADSL2 agreement with Telstra, to begin March 2. Full costing details will be available after that date on www.gotalk.com.au

The deal gives the full service, leading telco market innovator immediate access to around 1400 telephone exchanges nationwide equipped with ADSL2+ infrastructure plus access to a further 1300 exchanges that can deliver broadband speeds up to 8Mbps. 

According to CEO Steve Picton the Telstra deal will enable gotalk to deliver affordable Superfast Broadband at speeds of 8Mbps - 24 Mbps to over 90% of Metro and Regional Australians – “well in advance of any future National Broadband Network being built today.”

 "The combination of the quality and reach of the Telstra broadband network and gotalk's innovation and low cost delivery offers the very best Consumer proposition to the widest possible audience,” Picton said.

 “In these tough economic times the gotalk Voip and Broadband package allows real savings in the family budget wherever you live. Increasingly Broadband is no longer a discretionary service and gotalk’s Telstra enabled cost effective plans enable its powerful capabilities to be within the economic reach of all Australians.”

“gotalk's industry award winning Aussie VoIP service continues to attract more and more new customers and coupled with its cost effective ADSL provides improved voice quality and end to end savings,” Mr. Picton said.

gotalk’s new cost efficient competitive ADSL2+ service starts from just $39.95 for 10GB of included data in Metro areas. Complete costings will be available after March 2 on www.gotalk.com.au 

Customers signing up to gotalk’s new plans will have access to generous off peak allowances, and will also be able to purchase additional blocks of download data to top up their plan limit to avoid having their speed reduced. 

 “This is particularly exciting news for regional Australia, much of which has been starved of competition in the past,”says CEO Steve Picton. “gotalk is gearing up for what is expected to be high demand for its new services, and has also established bandwidth dedicated to gotalk customers between Tasmania and mainland Australia, including a dedicated backhaul between Tasmania and mainland Australia.This means that gotalk customers won’t be subjected to the usual slow speeds in Tasmania which have attracted much adverse criticism in the past,” Mr. Picton said.

NAKED DSL
“To complement the wide coverage which will become available for gotalk ADSL2+ customers following the Telstra agreement, gotalk will also continue to offer Naked DSL plans in metropolitan areas.  Naked DSL has proved a popular choice with many customers, who don’t want the added expense of telephone line rental in order to enjoy the benefits of high speed ADSL. gotalk’s Naked DSL plans all come with a free VoIP account but most customers choose to upgrade to the award winning Aussie Pack, which for just $14.95 a month gives customers loads of included free calls, including calls to Aussie mobiles,” Mr. Picton said.

DSL Plan details are detailed at www.gotalk.com.au

PRESS RELEASE: 23 February 2009

gotalk launches THE INTERNATIONAL MOBILE CHALLENGE – a brand new mobile product – 3G My Cap mobile plan.

Fast growing market leading telco innovator gotalk announces new plans which will “shake up” Australia’s mobile industry – especially the lucrative ethnic market -  with a new service CEO Steve Picton says will change the way customers think – and pay for - international direct dialing from mobile phones.

Unlike the larger players, gotalk’s new mobile plans let users use their entire monthly credit on international calls. “We are making it easier for consumers by allowing all of their call credit to be used for any type of calling, including international calls,” gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today. “gotalk’s new postpaid 3G My Cap mobile plans are a convenient and cost effective way to communicate globally,” Mr. Picton said. “The new My Cap mobile Plan offers amazing competitive rates  i.e. you get 312 minutes to the U.K. on the ‘My $25 cap’ .“

“Australia is a country that prides itself on its cultural diversity and yet it is almost impossible to find a simple, convenient and cost effective postpaid mobile product that addresses our need to stay in touch with family, friends and business contacts around the world,” Steve Picton said today. “gotalk wants nothing less than to change the current teleco mindset with its new ‘3G My Cap’ mobile plans”

“Unlike the larger players, gotalk will let you use your entire monthly credit on international calls. Other mobile companies only allow you to use a specified percentage of your call credit on international calls, which makes it confusing and more difficult than it needs to be for consumers” he said. “So gotalk has made it easier for consumers by allowing all of the call credit to be used for any type of calling, including international calls.”

The plans all come with included data. For every dollar spent on the monthly access fee, users receive one Megabyte worth of GPRS data to use on their 3G mobile phone.

Major international call markets to be targeted with the new service include:
Chinese (including HK), Vietnamese,Taiwanese, Korean, Indian, Greek, Irish, Philippine, Lebanese, Italian.

 “Plus the target audience will extend to destinations such as Canada, New Zealand, USA and the  UK , where for example you will get 312 minutes on the ‘My $25 cap’” Mr.Picton said.

Please go to the gotalk website www.gotalk.com.au for complete plan details but as an example customers on the $45 cap can get:

New Zealand  - up to 830 minutes
UK                  - up to 749 minutes
USA                - up to 680 minutes
Canada            - up to 680 minutes
Hong Kong        - up to 680 minutes
China               – up to 375 minutes including calls to mobiles!

PRESS RELEASE: 13 November 2008

gotalk launches “Xmas Cracker” Telco Price War:

FAST GROWING TRANS TASMAN TELCO GOTALK FIGHTS THE WORLD FINANCIAL CRISIS BY LAUNCHING AUSTRALIA’S MOST COMPETITIVE LOCAL, INTERSTATE AND INTERNATIONAL PHONE/BROADBAND/VoIP COMBOS JUST  IN TIME FOR THE ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PHONE CALL RUSH.

• Australian telecommunications market has become an even more competitive war zone from this month – just in time for the annual explosion of international Christmas phone calls.
  
• gotalk limited is an Australian owned, publicly unlisted, full service telecommunications company with sales in excess of $160 million per annum and over 150 staff Australia wide. The telco provides a range of wholesale and retail telecommunication services through its own state of the art exchange switching centre in Sydney's Castlereagh Street, which handles over a billion international minutes per year - which equates to 20% of all Australian outbound international call traffic.

“We know ordinary families are doing it tough as they approach Christmas this year – a time when families traditionally make lots of phone calls – local, interstate and even international,” gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today.

“I asked my department heads to come up with the most competitive, cost saving combo they could design – and the result is an outstanding home phone/broadband/VoIP combination that will reduce family phone bills considerably – not only this Christmas – but all year round.”

IN DETAIL:

A Cracker Combo Deal for XMAS

gotalk OFFERS almost $200 of EXTRA added value with its top selling phone, broadband and VoIP combo deals.

gotalk wants Australian consumers who have been feeling the effects of the credit crunch to take advantage of some cracker combo deals, just in time for Christmas!

Last year gotalk received industry wide gold award winning recognition for its value for money offers. This year they have decided to offer new customers purchasing selected combos almost $200 of extra value – by giving them a $50 credit on their account, a free VoIP stick valued at $49.95 and a free 4 port home networking gateway valued at $99.

These new “Xmas Cracker” combos will feature the 2008 “Money Magazine” award winning goVoIP Aussie Pack -  free local calls, national calls and calls to any Aussie mobile - plus for those that have families and friends overseas, the goVoIP World Pack again offers loads of free calls to popular international destinations (go to www.gotalk.com.au for more detail).

Steve Picton, CEO, gotalk says that ‘these packaged services are fantastic value, and they all come with optional additions so you can tailor an even more specific package for your needs’.

‘Sign up before Christmas to take advantage of this cracker offer so you can contact your friends and family as much as you like at Christmas and throughout the New Year,” Mr. Picton said.

“ Reaction to gotalk’s cost saving VoIP services has been growing all year and we are confident that our new Xmas Cracker combos will see more customers choosing gotalk as their telecommunications provider,” he said.

One such customer is David Bock, a 72 year old from Victoria who moved all of his telecommunications from Telstra to gotalk over a year ago. David  says ‘‘As you can imagine, being 72 years old and trying to get used to new technologies hasn’t been easy, but it’s been made a lot easier with the help from gotalk staff’. He goes on to say that ‘My experience over the last 12 months has been a good one – I’ve saved money on my phone bills and I’m very happy with the gotalk service’. 

For new customers who take up one of gotalk’s top selling combo deals before mid January, they will receive a $50 credit on their account, a free VoIP stick valued at $49.95 and a free 4 port home networking gateway valued at $99. Customers wishing to have their services in time for Christmas need to sign up by the end of November. This offer is only available on a 24 month contract. Customers wishing to upgrade to a wireless 4 port home networking gateway, pay just $89 to do this. Terms and conditions apply.

The combos feature gotalk’s great value home phone plan ‘HomeTalk’ that offer a national cap special of $1.99 for calling up to an hour, along with a massive 9GB of broadband, offering speeds up to 20,000 Kbps, as well as a choice of VoIP options, including the award-winning Aussie Pack as well as the World Pack, or a combination of both. Prices start from $78.85 per month.

gotalk combos offer great value for money, and with several to choose from, there’s something for everyone, visit www.gotalk.com.au to find out more.

PRESS RELEASE: 16 January 2008

gotalk and Hi Speed kiosks form partnership to offer VoIP in shopping centres

Full service telco gotalk has expanded its distribution diversification strategy by forming a partnership with Hi Speed Internet Kiosks to offer cheap VoIP phone calls to customers in major shopping centres and tourist areas.

“The partnership will enable shoppers – plus shop staff and centre employees -  to make convenient phone calls around Australia, to mobile phones and to the world at very cost effective prices,” gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today.

Research shows that Hi Speed Kiosks are most frequently used by:

Young adults 14-24 (people on a budget)
Users of prepaid services of all ages (Value Seekers)
Short and medium term holiday-makers
White collar workers

“Both gotalk and Hi Speed expect that offering VoIP services will attract a new demographic to the kiosks including centre business users (by offering teleconferencing abilities) - and price conscious callers who will use VoIP as an alternative to their mobile phones,” he said.

High Speed Internet Kiosks Pty Ltd is one of Australia’s leading designers, builders and operators of digital kiosks. The company derives its kiosk revenues from public access fixed line internet access, printing and onscreen and ambient advertising. gotalk’s VoIP/Broadband products won the industry’s 2008 Best of the Best’ gold award  presented by ‘Money Magazine’ last month against all current Australian VoIP service providers. The gotalk range includes gotalk’s goVoIP Aussie Pack – just named PC User Magazine’s ‘Communication Product of the Year’.

“This year we plan to add a number of additional revenue streams to our portfolio including wireless Internet access, broadband phone (VOIP), third party multimedia and gaming services billed via a sophisticated network of cash / credit card and USB accepted payment stations,” Stephen Burns,  High Speeds’ General Manager of Marketing and Commercial said today.

“Since commencing operations in 2005 the business has grown from a single kiosk at Surfers Paradise to over 30 kiosks 500 screens and 25,000 users per week today and is on target to grow to well over 100 sites, 2000 screens and 90,000 users per week by the end of the year. Our medium term plan is to  grow to more than 200 sites, 3500 screens and 180,000 users per week by the end of 2009,” he said.

“Future services planned to be offered via High Speed Kiosks include the ability to sell bundled product offerings such as data, voice and content products into the growing Hi Speed subscriber base, and, the ability to extract scale and cost efficiencies.”

Currently a coin operated service, in early in 2008 Hi Speed will launch a new payment system allowing notes and credit / debit payments in addition to coin and a special Hi Speed stored value card that can be topped up at an onsite facility, via third party retailers or online. This card could be used for partner-prepaid services such as VoIP or calling cards and conversely Hi Speed services could be used on the same prepaid debit account.

“Simply, gotalk’s current customers could use their prepaid dollars for Hi-Speed kiosks services and Hi-Speed members could use gotalk’s prepaid dollars for telco services. All ‘’topping up’’ could be effected at the Hi Speed self-service payment station, avoiding the requirement for a credit card and the need for a phone call,” Mr. Burns said.

Steve Picton added that a number of the high traffic kiosk sites will be clearly gotalk and Hi Speed branded.

“This means that the gotalk brand will be exposed to a high volume foot traffic experiencing the brand on a daily basis,” he said.

“Hi Speed is developing a loyal following of high use Internet users,” Mr. Picton continued.

“Every week more than 25,000 Hi Speed Internet Kiosk customers surf the net, chat, email, game, download files, print, and with the gotalk partnership, they will soon be able to phone anywhere in the world.”

Currently there are reported to be an installed and fast growing base of around 300,000 self service kiosks in the Asia Pacific region providing various services to millions of active users.

PRESS RELEASE: 16 January 2008 

gotalk - Rosies partnership

In an unusual corporate/charity partnership announced this week, Gold Coast based national telco gotalk limited has signed an agreement with teen charity Rosies Friends on the Street - gotalk will donate a set portion of each Rosies supporter’s bill who signs up to gotalk’s telecommunications services back to the charity each month.

 “A portion of all Rosies’ supporters telecommunications bill with gotalk will be paid directly to Rosies on a monthly basis to raise much needed funds for Rosies Programs Australia wide,” gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today.

 Rosies supporters will have access to gotalk’s award winning telecommunications plans such as ‘goVoIP Aussie pack’ which is Money Magazine ‘Best of the Best’ GOLD winner for the VoIP category and it was also named “Communications Product of the Year” by the best selling PC User Magazine (January 2008 issue).

gotalk also won gold for ADSL2+ light broadband plan and bronze Awards for its ADSL2+Optimum High Speed plan and gotalk’s goVoIP Value Pack.

“Rosies supporters can now, quite literally, call the world to 110 destinations with 30 countries included for free, 30 countries that can be called for just 20c per call and 50 countries that can be called for 50c per call - countries from Argentina and Austria to Zambia and Zimbabwe”, Mr. Picton said.

 The ‘go VoIP World Pack’ still costs just $9.95 when combined with the ‘go VoIP Aussie Pack’, or it can be sold as a stand-alone pack for $14.95. For just $9.95 when combined with gotalk’s ‘goVoIP Aussie Pack’, the ‘World Pack’ lets customer’s make 100 calls, or talk for 3000 minutes each month. 

 Rosies was founded in Rosebud, Victoria, (hence the name Rosies) by Oblate Priest Father Tom Shortall OMI in 1975. The outreach began as a drop-in centre for young people who were holidaying with their families. The centre was a place of friendship and helped keep teenagers off the street and out of trouble. Responding to the needs of students attending the annual Gold Coast Schoolies Week, Rosies expanded their services into Queensland in 1987.

Rosies programs include:

• Street Outreach
• Schoolies Week
• Children's and Drug Court Support
• Youth Detention Visitation
•  Prison Outreach

“Our aim is to achieve an on going regular source of much needed funds to continue these programs running for all homeless people; court support; prison outreach and schoolies,” a Rosies spokesman said today.

“We could have just asked gotalk for a cheque – but this way we can achieve an income stream which will hopefully grow over time, and give gotalk an incentive to work on our relationship from their end as well,” the spokesman said.

It was evident throughout Schoolies of 1987 there were many permanent, marginalised and abandoned people living on the Gold Coast. The following year a full-time team was established to minister by way of tea, coffee and a listening ear to the local homeless community.

Since then Rosies has expanded with centres in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Cairns. In 2005 Rosies plan was to further develop three new outreach centres in Logan, Caboolture and Ipswich.

With 400 volunteers across the four centres, volunteers are seen as the heartbeat of the Rosies Mission. Touching the lives of over 5,000 homeless people per year with unconditional love, volunteers are family to the street kids and others who have made the streets their home or visit the Rosies Vans.

“gotalk is delighted to become a part of such a worthwhile programme” Mr. Picton said.

“If Rosies volunteers can persuade people to switch their telecommunication services to gotalk then they will not only benefit themselves from more efficient and economical telco services – they will also be helping to make a real difference in the lives of those less well off than ourselves.”

Darrin Ruprecht, Rosies Fundraising Director will educate gotalk staff on how to participate in outreach programs in 2008 and to understand what Rosies does by way of practical support to homeless people.

To support Rosies by switching your telecommunication services to gotalk – ring 1800 641 000 or make an enquiry here

PRESS RELEASE: 10 January 2008 

gotalk-Betta Electrical deal

• Betta Electrical chain to carry full range of gotalk ‘Best of the Best’ gold award winning VoIP/Broadband products – awarded by ‘Money Magazine’ against all current Australian competitors.
• Plus latest gotalk prepaid mobile caps - directly targeting the lucrative 16-28 year old market – “the best value for money in the prepaid cap market”, according to CEO Steve Picton.
• Range includes gotalk’s goVoIP Aussie Pack – just named PC User Magazine’s ‘Communication Product of the Year’.

Fast growing telco gotalk’s full range of telecommunication products will be available through the national Betta Electrical chain of over 160 retail stores following a deal announced by CEO Steve Picton today.

“We are delighted to add the Betta Electrical brand to our retail outlets – not only because they are the only stores to offer the full range of our products – but because the chain has a reputation for offering personalized, knowledgeable service,” Mr. Picton said.

“The entire gotalk range – including VoIP, broadband and prepaid mobile capped plans – have been designed to give retailers such as Betta Electrical the ability to sell the full value for money telco package.”

“For example, gotalk’s new capped plans have been deliberately aimed at taking market share from our main competition Vodafone and Optus.”

“In some areas the new gotalk mobile caps offer TWICE the value of our competition,” Mr. Picton said, “and in the market we are targeting value for money is the critical factor in selecting a service provider – whether the customer is the parent of a teenage mobile phone user or someone in the cost conscious 20-28 group who just need to control their spend because they live on a budget or have a mortgage.”

The deal with Betta Electrical comes on top of a very successful month for gotalk.

This month the telco scooped the prestigious annual ‘Best of the Best’ 2008 VoIP Awards against all major service providers - winning three Gold Awards (Best Home VoIP User Plan, Best Business VoIP User Plan and Best ADSL2+ Light broadband plan) against all competition.

The telco also won Bronze Awards for its ADSL2+Optimum High Speed plan and gotalk’s goVoIP Value Pack.

The gotalk goVoIP Aussie Pack was also named “Communications Product of the Year” by the best selling PC User Magazine (January 2008 issue).
“Betta Electrical will be selling our recently expanded version of our market leading ‘World Pack’ VoIP plan,” Mr. Picton said, “Betta Electrical customers can now, quite literally, call the world to 110 destinations with 30 countries included for free, 30 countries that can be called for just 20c per call and 50 countries that can be called for 50c per call - countries from Argentina and Austria to Zambia and Zimbabwe”.

The ‘go VoIP World Pack’ still costs just $9.95 when combined with the ‘go VoIP Aussie Pack’, or it can be sold as a stand-alone pack for $14.95.

For just $9.95 when combined with gotalk’s ‘goVoIP Aussie Pack’, the ‘World Pack’ lets customer’s make 100 calls, or talk for 3000 minutes each month.  And for business users, or for those power callers out there, gotalk has launched the ‘Biz World Pack’, which includes all the same countries but comes with 200 calls, or 5000 minutes each month for just $19.95.  The ‘World’ and ‘Biz World Packs’ can also be purchased as standalone plans for $14.95 and $24.95 respectively.

PRESS RELEASE: 8 December 2007

gotalk launches Xmas VoIP War

Fast growing Broadband/Mobile/VoIP telco gotalk has scooped the pool with three Gold Awards (Best Home VoIP User Plan, Best Business VoIP User Plan and Best ADSL2+ Light broadband plan) in the 2008 Money Magazine’s prestigious annual “Best of the Best” Awards published this week. 

The telco also won Bronze Awards for its ADSL2+Optimum High Speed plan and gotalk’s goVoIP Value Pack. 

“To have these awards announced the same week as we launched four even more cost efficient plans than those which so impressed the judges is very pleasing indeed – and must be worrying to our competition. What’s more exciting is that gotalk will continue to develop market leading services across all categories and should be up for even more awards in 2008” a delighted gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today.

Repeat information of those plans now follow:

• Australian VoIP telecommunications market becomes an even more competitive war zone from, Monday December 3 – just in time for the annual explosion of international Christmas phone calls.

• Building on the success of its market leading go VoIP plans ‘Aussie Pack’ and ‘World Pack’, gotalk today launches ‘phase two’ of its VoIP strategy releasing even stronger plans into the market place.

• gotalk announces an expanded version of its market leading ‘World Pack’ VoIP plan – where customers can now “call the world to 110 destinations” with 30 countries included for free, 30 countries that can be called for just 20c per call and 50 countries that can be called for 50c per call. (Click here to see complete list of destination countries from Argentina and Austria to Zambia and Zimbabwe). 

Steve Picton, CEO of fast growing full service/broadband/VoIP telco gotalk has fired the first broadside in a VoIP price war which he believes will persuade thousands of customers of MyNetFone, Skype and Engin - to change service providers. 

The ‘go VoIP World Pack’ still costs just $9.95 when combined with the ‘go VoIP Aussie Pack’, or it can be sold as a stand-alone pack for $14.95. 

For just $9.95 when combined with gotalk’s ‘goVoIP Aussie Pack’, the ‘World Pack’ lets customer’s make 100 calls, or talk for 3000 minutes each month.  And for business users, or for those power callers out there, gotalk has launched the ‘Biz World Pack’, which includes all the same countries but comes with 200 calls, or 5000 minutes each month for just $19.95.  The ‘World’ and ‘Biz World Packs’ can also be purchased as standalone plans for $14.95 and $24.95 respectively.

Building on the success of its highly popular ‘Aussie Pack’ plan which gives users free calls to Australian mobiles, as well as free local and national calls, gotalk has also launched an ‘Aussie Biz Pack’, which gives customers even more free calls, includes 2 free geographical inbound telephone numbers, and monthly fee-free 1300 or 1800 number. 

“gotalk’s market leading ‘go VoIP Aussie Pack’ combined with the expanded version of the ‘World Pack’ VoIP plan,  is now far and away the best postpaid VoIP deal on the market,” he said. “This combination, with the ‘Aussie Pack’ being the only VoIP plan offering unlimited mobile, local and national calls, and the ‘World Pack’ now offering access to a whopping 110 countries around the world – is simply unbeatable,” he said.   

‘World Pack’ customers now really can call the world with 30 countries included for free - 30 countries that can be called for just 20c per call and an amazing 50 countries that can be called for 50c per call. gotalk is also launching two new VoIP business plans – ‘Biz World Pack’ , which is the business version of ‘World Pack’, and ‘Aussie Biz Pack’, a business version of the ‘Aussie Pack.’ 

“Customers can sign up to gotalk VoIP plans by calling our customer service on 1800 GOTALK (468 255) or speaking to an authorized gotalk dealer. And for a limited time gotalk is also offering customers a free all in one internet modem/router/ATA valued at $249 when they bundle one of these exceptional value VoIP plans with an unlimited broadband plan and home phone service,” Mr. Picton said.

On August 6, gotalk announced “Phase One” of its “VoIP Challenge” to all competitors in the Australian VoIP market by launching Australia’s first prepaid VoIP service attached to  phonecards through cardcall, a fully owned gotalk subsidiary which is the major supplier of calling cards in  Australia.

 
The prepaid VoIP launch was quickly followed by gotalk’s aggressive postpaid VoIP plans -  ‘Aussie Pack’ and ‘World Pack’, which hit the market late August and have since been extremely popular amongst customers – gotalk ‘Aussie Pack’ is the first and only VoIP plan in Australia offering unlimited calls to mobiles, as well as unlimited local and national calls.

PRESS RELEASE: 3 December 2007

gotalk launches direct Engin VoIP attack

• Building on the success of its market leading go VoIP plans ‘Aussie pack’ and ‘World Pack’, gotalk launches today ‘phase two’ of its VoIP strategy releasing even stronger plans into the market place.
• gotalk announces an expanded version of its market leading ‘World Pack’ VoIP plan – where customers can now “call the world to 110 destinations” with 30 countries included for free, 30 countries that can be called for just 20c per call and 50 countries that can be called for 50c per call.

Steve Picton, CEO of fast growing full service/broadband/VoIP telco gotalk today fired the first broadside in a VoIP price war which he believes will persuade thousands of customers of MyNetFone, Skype and VoIP specialist Engin - to change service providers.

“With engin announcing drastic staff cuts and its abandoning of broadband ADSL, we believe their 77,000 customer base in particular is vulnerable and ready to move to a more attractive service provider – and we believe that with the plans we are announcing – plus the fact that gotalk already has one of the most cost effective ADSL service in Australia, we are confident gotalk is the one they will choose.”  

“gotalk’s market leading ‘go VoIP Aussie Pack’ combined with the expanded version of the ‘World Pack’ VoIP plan,  is now far and away the best postpaid VoIP deal on the market,” he said. “This combination, with the ‘Aussie Pack’ being the only VoIP plan offering unlimited mobile, local and national calls, and the ‘World Pack’ now offering access to a whopping 110 countries around the world – is simply unbeatable”.  

‘World Pack’ customers now really can call the world with 30 countries included for free - 30 countries that can be called for just 20c per call and an amazing 50 countries that can be called for 50c per call. gotalk is also launching two new VoIP business plans – ‘Biz World Pack’ , which is the business version of ‘World Pack’, and ‘Aussie Biz Pack’, a business version of the ‘Aussie Pack.’

 “Customers can sign up to gotalk VoIP plans by calling our customer service on 1800 GOTALK (468 255) or speaking to an authorized gotalk dealer. And for a limited time gotalk is also offering customers a free all in one internet modem/router/ATA valued at $249 when they bundle one of these exceptional value VoIP plans with an unlimited broadband plan and home phone service,” Mr. Picton said.
On August 6, gotalk announced “Phase One” of its “VoIP Challenge” to all competitors in the Australian VoIP market by launching Australia’s first prepaid VoIP service attached to  phonecards through cardcall, a fully owned gotalk subsidiary which is the major supplier of calling cards in  Australia.
The prepaid VoIP launch was quickly followed by gotalk’s aggressive postpaid VoIP plans -  ‘Aussie Pack’ and ‘World Pack’, which hit the market late August and have since been extremely popular amongst customers – gotalk ‘Aussie Pack’ is the first and only VoIP plan in Australia offering unlimited* calls to mobiles, as well as unlimited local and national calls.

The ‘go VoIP World Pack’ still costs just $9.95 when combined with the ‘go VoIP Aussie Pack’, or it can be sold as a stand-alone pack for $14.95.

For just $9.95 when combined with gotalk’s ‘goVoIP Aussie Pack’, the ‘World Pack’ lets customer’s make 100 calls, or talk for 3000 minutes each month.  And for business users, or for those power callers out there, gotalk has launched the ‘Biz World Pack’, which includes all the same countries but comes with 200 calls, or 5000 minutes each month for just $19.95.  The ‘World’ and ‘Biz World Packs’ can also be purchased as standalone plans for $14.95 and $24.95 respectively.

Building on the success of its highly popular ‘Aussie Pack’ plan which gives users free calls to Australian mobiles, as well as free local and national calls, gotalk has also launched an ‘Aussie Biz Pack’, which gives customers even more free calls, includes 2 free geographical inbound telephone numbers, and monthly fee-free 1300 or 1800 number.

NOTE: fair use policy applies to all plans.  

PRESS RELEASE: 20 November 2007

gotalk launches new prepaid mobile caps

• Gold Coast telco gotalk today launched a range of prepaid mobile caps directly targeting the 16-28 year old market - or parents attempting to control kid’s mobile costs.
• Best value for money in the prepaid cap market, with the biggest value of credit plus great rates, says CEO Steve Picton.

(For more information visit www.charge.com.auor call 1800 GOTALK (468 255).
 
CEO Steve Picton said today gotalk’s new capped plans were now “the best value for money in the prepaid market” – and aimed at taking market share from gotalk’s main competition Vodafone and Optus.

“In some areas the new gotalk mobile caps offer TWICE the value of our competition,” Mr. Picton said, “and in the market we are targeting, value for money is the critical factor in selecting a service provider.”

“With prepaid you can keep your costs down and never have to worry about going over your cap and incurring much higher rates which can happen on postpaid accounts,” Mr. Picton said.

gotalk’s prepaid caps offer comes in four cap choices:

• Just Charge ($19) = $20 worth of value
• Value Charge ($29) = $180 worth of value
• Super Charge ($39) = $280 worth of value
• Xtra Charge ($49) = $400 worth of value

The caps offer national calls at 39c per 30 secs with 29c flagfall, standard text 25c per 160 characters, photo messaging 75c, voice mail retrieval 20c per 30 sec, and free voice mail deposit.

“At $180 worth of value for just $29, $280 worth of value for $39, and $400 worth of value for $49, the gotalk prepaid mobile caps range offer great value in the very competitive mobile market,” he said.

Included in the caps are: Bonus Credit, SMS and gotalk to gotalk calls. (we cant say free, just that there included in the caps)

“Apart from great rates, 39c per 30 seconds, 29c Flagfall and 25c Text, your credit AND bonus credit can be rolled over for an additional 30 days when recharges within 30days from last recharge”. 

PRESS RELEASE: 15 October 2007

• cardcall – Australia’s largest phonecard distributor and one of Australia’s largest specialist prepaid telco distribution networks with over 30,000 retailers nationally - has been appointed a distributor for Prepaid Partners – Telstra’s newest authorized distributor for prepaid products including Telstra’s Next G.
• The deal which takes effect on Monday October 15 replaces a five and a half years association with Optus prepaid mobile services.
• A wholly owned subsidiary of fast growing Gold Coast broadband/VoIP/Mobile telco gotalk, cardcall’s distribution deal follows a spate of recent announcements, launches and acquisitions, including the recent purchase of Telstra’s international phonecards and an exclusive telecommunications supplier deal with North American gift card market leader Blackhawk Network - a subsidiary of the giant US supermarket retailer Safeway.

CEO Steve Picton said today the distribution agreement with Prepaid Partners for Telstra’s range of prepaid products, along with the exclusive agreement with Blackhawk were “major strategic steps” in the expansion plans of gotalk’s retail division.

“cardcall is core to this strategy and will now be able to offer the full range of prepaid services from the telco market leader in Australia,” Mr. Picton said. “These include Telstra’s prepaid mobile (including their recently launched Next G service), prepaid Home and their two remaining phonecards after our recent acquisition of the Say G’Day and Super Buzz Phonecards.”

Mr. Picton also flagged the growing importance of electronic terminals to distribute phonecards in Australia and said his company would have an announcement “of some significance” in coming weeks.

“Electronic terminals are already responsible for more than $2 million in phonecard sales every month, and the volume is rising rapidly” he said. “We have identified that this particular retail footprint is strategically critical for us and we will be making a major announcement very soon. Its practical and strategic importance cannot be overstated and we have many initiatives utilising electronic terminals planned over the coming months,” he said.

The deal with Prepaid Partners will allow gotalk/cardcall to offer a one stop shop for all prepaid telecommunications needs, including Telstra’s prepaid mobile and the new Next G service, prepaid Home and Telstra’s ‘Phonecard’ and ‘Phoneaway’ calling cards, Mr. Picton said.

“Telstra’s new Next G (850Mhz) network is more than 100 times larger than any other 3G network in Australia, and covers more than 98% of the Australian population. It brings to all those within its coverage area, access to an exciting and growing range of 3G products and services that will give Australians more ways to do more things - at faster speeds and in far more places than ever before. The Next G network provides coverage to more Australians than any other mobile network.”

“We are delighted to have formalised our relationship with what is obviously the future of retail telecommunications in Australia”. “We are positive of the benefits this relationship will bring to our retailers, as they can now order an extensive range of prepaid services with cardcall, including Australia’s only Next G Service. Retailers will also enjoy our revised product commissions and an extensive range of high quality point of sale material for their stores”.

In line with cardcall’s regular distribution offers, retailers will be able to take advantage of several order discounts and bonus structures. To support the launch, cardcall will be presenting the market with a range of promotional launch offers that include the range of popular Telstra products.

PRESS RELEASE: 8 October 2007

• Unlike the big players in the mobile market, gotalk now offers no connection fee on mobile plans (non-capped)
• gotalk has also included international calling in its mobile capped eligible call types

“Today gotalk launches a new FREE Connect mobile plan which means that, unlike with most other telcos, gotalk customers on non-capped plans aren’t hit with call connection fees as well as calling rates, every time they make a phone call”, CEO Steve Picton announced.

The majority of other providers that offer mobile plans (non-capped) to the mainstream consumer market charge a connection fee for all calls that customers make which are answered. Unlike them, and in line with gotalk’s strategy of providing customers with value for money and innovative plans, gotalk customers can now enjoy no connection fee with their mobile plans, instead of paying around 25c on top of their call costs each time they make a call. 

“gotalk is always looking for ways to improve value for its customers and we can do this by differentiating ourselves from the main players in the market. Offering no connection fee and no lock in contracts on all non-capped mobile plans means we’re doing just that” Mr. Picton said.

“The new gotalk plans are aimed at the mainstream consumer market where we are one of the leading companies in Australia to offer no call connection fee on non-capped mobile plans across the board. These plans are perfect for people who use their mobiles for numerous short calls, or for those that keep a mobile ‘just-in-case’”.

Benefits of the new gotalk mobile plans (non-capped):

• A mainstream consumer mobile plan with NO call connection fees (includes national calls, calls-to-mobiles and international calls).
• Monthly call credit included with mobile plans (except Free Connect 0).
   
gotalk has also just launched a new range of attractive mobile capped plans:

“gotalk mobile capped plans now give customers even more flexible options. For the first time gotalk is including international calls & texting in their eligible call types, without limiting the value of the cap customers can use on international calling & texting.”

Customers pick a cap, for example, Flexi Cap 25 which means they only pay $25 per month, which gives them $100 worth of included value.  What is different about these capped plans, is that there are two fee components – the monthly access fee which is common to all plans ($15 per month), plus the customers additional cap value on top of this.

This means customers aren’t locked into the full cap plan, when their usage patterns may change. For example, a customer on the FlexiCap 25: 

A low usage month may mean that the total cap value isn’t required by the customer.  If the $15 of included value is not reached, the customer will not be charged the full cap. Therefore the customer would only be charged $15 for that month, as opposed to $25.

Once the $15 of included value is reached, the second fee making up the cap ($10), is charged and gives the customer the full $100 cap of included value. The customer is then charged the full cap fee of $25.

“If customers are on holiday and not using their mobile we’re not going to charge them their full cap amount, but when they are using their phone frequently they still get more than they pay for with great included calling value. It’s our way of offering a mobile cap which is flexible to people’s lifestyle,” Mr. Picton said. “gotalk has previously offered flexible billing on two of our mobile caps, but now we have extended it across our full range of mobile caps.”

 “We want to offer customers the choice of how they use their included value. Neither Vodafone or Optus include international calls in their mobile caps – customers have to pay extra for any international calls they make,” Mr. Picton said. 

PRESS RELEASE: 26 September 2007

AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST PHONECARD COMPANY CARDCALL SIGNS EXCLUSIVE TELECOMMUNICATION SUPPLIER DEAL WITH NORTH AMERICAN MARKET LEADER BLACKHAWK NETWORK – AS IT PLANS ITS FIRST ENTRY INTO THE FAST GROWING $200 MILLION AUSTRALIAN RETAIL GIFT CARD MARKET

cardcall – Australia’s largest phonecard company and wholly owned subsidiary of rapidly expanding telco gotalk limited – today announced an exclusive telecommunications supplier contract with U.S. gift card market leader Blackhawk Network, which is entering the $200 million plus Australian gift card market for the first time later this year. cardcall will also act as one of only two distribution partners for Blackhawk in Australia.

Blackhawk, a subsidiary of US supermarket chain Safeway Inc, plans to launch their award winning ‘Gift Card Store’ concept in hundreds of retail outlets around Australia later this year.

The Blackhawk/cardcall deal follows the rapidly expanding telco gotalk’s purchase of Telstra’s international physical, electronic voucher and online calling cards last June, and the August 6 launch of prepaid VoIP phonecards as a direct challenge to Skype. cardcall has a 30,000 strong retailer network in Australia and New Zealand. The parent gotalk is headquartered in Sydney with its operations centre located at Varsity Lakes on Queensland’s Gold Coast. The telco has established strong corporate partnerships with Harvey Norman, BP, Caltex, Woolworths, Coles, Domayne, Dick Smith, Tandy, Harris Technology and Australia Post.

According to recent US business/finance and retail trade press such as The Financial Times, Blackhawk’s prepaid Gift Card Stores have created “an entirely new multi million dollar category segment” in US retail. Blackhawk now sells cards to more than 165 million customers a week through its up front distinctive display stands in grocery chains, mass market retailers, convenience stores, drugstores and specialty retailers. Blackhawk has stands in more than 73,000 locations including supermarkets and drug stores.

gotalk/cardcall CEO Steve Picton said the deal with the Blackhawk Network offered “amazing growth possibilities on two fronts” for his company. “The first is obviously the expanded opportunities for new telco customers to purchase our extensive phonecards range in many new retail locations – with even more possibilities for impulse buying. The second is an entirely new revenue stream for cardcall as it becomes one of only two Blackhawk agent/distributors, responsible for selling in and maintaining the Blackhawk gift card solution into the Australian retail trade market,” he said.

cardcall will join an impressive list of major brand name partners who will offer prepaid gift cards on Blackhawk gift card stores in time for Christmas.

Steve Picton said the cardcall phonecard range on offer would include Daybreak, Say G'day, Oasis, Super Buzz, OZcall, gotalk, Hot, Happy Calling, SUPERSAVER, Call Mama, Shout, Talk Tomato, Ratesaver, and It's Green – a range which currently sells in excess of $8 million unique cards a month in Australia and New Zealand.

For the first time, prepaid calling cards can be safely displayed front of house, greatly increasing the visibility.

According to Blackhawk Managing Director Stewart Rigby, while many retailers and other organisations have been selling their own gift cards for years, the unique Blackhawk aggregated solution opens them up with a completely new channel opportunity, in which hundreds of retail outlets across Australia will sell their gift cards. 

“Major retailers will have their products and services available via ‘Gift Cards Stores’ in thousands of retail sites across Australia. Customers may now buy retailers gift cards in a grocery store; or  local newsagency – without the retailer having to carry stock or even give up floor space to display product they never envisaged they would ever sell,” Mr.Rigby said.

Headquartered in Pleasanton California, Blackhawk Network www.blackhawknetwork.com developed the Gift Card Mall Destination Concept which usually involves one permanent, distinctive, “front of house” in-store display stand, large enough to carry hundreds of major third party branded cards in all the categories consumers want – gift, sports, telecom, open loop gift (cards that can be used at thousands of locations), theatre, movie, sporting, and event tickets and other reloadable products. 

Described officially as “a prepaid and payments network, a market leader in card-based financial solutions” Blackhawk launched in the UK earlier this year and now plan to repeat their award winning concept in Australia. 

“Prepaid gift card malls are all about offering consumers convenience and enhancing value to the one-stop shop," Mr. Rigby said. "It's rare these days that retailers can create an entirely new category segment in their stores let alone one that generates some excitement, but prepaid gift cards are doing that. Penetration is growing and we are anticipating tremendous growth in this area."

PRESS RELEASE: 29 August 2007

• gotalk launches 3 NEW VoIP plans in the market today:

1. “go VoIP Aussie pack”  -  the only Australian VoIP plan to include unlimited calls to all mobiles!
2. “go VoIP Value pack” - the only $4.95 entry level plan in the market with included call value
3. “go VoIP World pack” – an upgrade option which offers FREE calling to 20 countries and 20c untimed calls to a further 20 countries 

• CEO Steve Picton issues a challenge to all VoIP service providers operating in the Australian and New Zealand markets – including dominant international market leader Skype - to beat gotalk’s new “go VoIP Aussie” plan

“From today, gotalk has the only VoIP plan in Australia from which you can make unlimited calls from your PC or VoIP phone to local, national and mobiles,” gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today. “Other telcos, such as Optus Fusion do offer unlimited calls, but to Optus mobiles only, which can be quite confusing as it is almost impossible for a customer to know if the call he or she is making is to another Optus mobile. This is why gotalk has launched the “go VoIP Aussie Pack” to include unlimited calls to all Australian mobiles, without restriction” Mr. Picton said.

According to Mr. Picton, gotalk is also the only VoIP provider to offer included call value in their entry level $4.95 plan – call value can be used for local, national or mobile calls.

“Our Aussie pack includes unlimited calls to local, national and mobiles while our World Pack upgrade option available on both new plans, offers free calling to 20 countries and another 20 countries for 20c untimed calls”.
On August 6, Picton’s rapidly expanding telco gotalk announced plans to challenge Skype’s domination of the Australian and New Zealand VoIP markets by launching Australia’s first Prepaid VoIP service attached to all their cardcall phonecards. cardcall, a fully owned gotalk subsidiary, is the major ($8 million a month) distributor of calling cards in both Australia and New Zealand.
“The new go VoIP Aussie Plans are ‘Phase Two’ in our strategy to win market share not only from Skype – but all VoIP service providers in this market, over coming months” Mr. Picton said.

“Customers can sign up to gotalk VoIP plans by calling our customer service on 1800 468 255 or speaking to an authorized gotalk dealer,” Mr. Picton said.

NOTE (1): Last month gotalk purchased Telstra’s international physical, electronic voucher and online calling cards, “Say G’Day” and “Super Buzz” covering nine language options (English, French Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Thai) which can be used for local, long distance and mobile calls – including to and from global satellite services, international calls in Australia and calls from most touchtone phones. Full service telco gotalk provides a range of wholesale and retail telecommunication services through its own state of the art exchange switching centre in Sydney's Castlereagh Street which handles over a billion international minutes per year which in turn equates to 20% of all Australian outbound international call traffic.

NOTE (2): A survey by respected telco research company PhoneChoice in July this year, named gotalk's goNet Value home phone and internet bundle the “Best Value Bundle” currently available in Australia (when measured against Telstra, Optus, AAPT, Primus, Dodo and the new Optus Fusion plans.)

gotalk’s new VoIP plans in detail:

1. go VoIP Aussie pack $14.95
Call value inclusions: unlimited local, national and mobile calls
Call rates:
Local/national: FREE
Mobile: FREE
Happy Hour applies: free gotalk to gotalk VoIP calls between 6pm – 7pm AEST everyday
Geo number is included

2. go VoIP value pack $4.95
$5.00 included call credit – eligible call types are local, national and mobile
Call credit cannot be used for international calls or calls to 1300, 1900, 0055
Call rates:
Local/national: 14.9 cents per call
Mobile: 24.9 cents per minute
Geo number is included

3. go VoIP World pack - $9.95
Customers on both go VoIP value pack or go VoIP Aussie pack have the option to pay an extra $9.95 and get the extra benefits of go VoIP World pack.
Provides calls to 20 countries for free and 20 countries for 20c untimed.

Free Countries 20c Untimed Countries
Austria - Canada – China - Denmark – France – Germany – Greece – Ireland - Israel – Italy -   Korea South – Netherlands – Poland – Singapore – Spain – Sweden – Taiwan – Thailand – UK -  USA Argentina – Brazil – Chile - Colombia – Croatia  Hong Kong – India – Indonesia – Japan  Jordan – Malaysia - New Zealand -  Pakistan Peru – Russia - South Africa – Switzerland Turkey – Vietnam – Zimbabwe
(note: fair use policy applies to all plans)

PRESS RELEASE - 20 August 2007

gotalk expands ethnic telecommunications market penetration

• In a telco market first, an exclusive deal with Asia Pacific’s Globe Telecom announced today will allow thousands of Filipinos living, working and studying in Australia to transfer small amounts of prepaid airtime phone credits for use by family and friends back home.

Fast growing  Australian and New Zealand telco gotalk limited has announced it has signed an exclusive deal with Globe Telecom, the second largest mobile phone company in the Philippines with more than 16.9 million mobile and 3G subscribers.

In what is claimed to be a telco market first the gotalk/Globe Telecom deal will allow thousands of Filipino workers and migrants living and working in Australia to transfer regular small - $Au5 to $Au50 - amounts of airtime easily and instantly to family and friends in the Philippines – as well as to make the cheapest available pre paid IDD (International Direct Dial) calls to their huge customer base. Globe is the first mobile operator to make 3G services available in the Philippines and also the first operator in Asia Pacific to introduce 3G with high speed mobile broadband, High Speed Downlink Packet Access to the general public.

Gold Coast based gotalk is already a major player in the outbound telecommunications call market, currently handling over a billion international minutes per year which equates to 20% of all Australian outbound international call traffic through its own state of the art exchange switching centre in Sydney's Castlereagh Street.

The gotalk agreement with Globe Telecom follows their June 1 announcement of an agreement to purchase Telstra’s prepaid international calling cards, Say G’day and Super Buzz which service a customer base of 110,000 international phone card users in nine ethnic languages - English, French Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Indonesian, Japanese Korean and Thai.

CEO Steve Picton said today the Globe deal was “another strategic move by gotalk to consolidate its leading position in the multi million dollar ethnic telco market in Australia and New Zealand.”

“According to the latest statistics, over 22 percent of the Australian population of 21 million was born overseas; and almost 14 percent of the population was born in a non-English speaking country. According to the census, 18 per cent of the population was born in Australia but had at least one parent who was born overseas. In 2006, almost 16 percent of the population spoke a language other than English at home,” Mr. Picton said.

“This means there are several million people in Australia who need to make frequent and regular international phone calls to friends and family overseas – and this is a growth market in which gotalk has particular expertise.”

“The deal with Globe specifically involves the “Sariling Atin” and “It’s Green” phonecards in Australia and “Happy Calling” and “Ratesaver” in New Zealand,” Mr. Picton said today.

“Our exclusive facility to transfer credit – called Share-a-Load – through Globe, will be very popular with Filipinos as it will simplify the transfer of airtime credits from $5 to $50 – which may not seem that much by Australian standards, but will mean a great deal to family members in the Philippines,” he said.

About Share a Load

"Share-a-Load" is a new, revolutionary loading service that gives the customers of Globe Telecom partners such as gotalk in Australia, the ability to transfer prepaid call and text credits to their friends and loved ones on Globe Prepaid and Touch Mobile, via the convenience of text!

It is simple and totally secure - just send credits the way you would send a normal text message! For example, to send your Australian prepaid credit load from Australia to a friend or a family member in the Philippines simply follow the three easy steps below:

1 - Register for the service using your mobile phone by SMS’ing the word REG, your prepaid card PIN and a 4 Digit Password of your choice to 0417 007 618.

2 - Wait for a text message from gotalk then you are ready to Share-A-Load to a registered Globe Prepaid or Touch Mobile subscriber in the Philippines!

3 - Send a load via a text message to 0417 007 618 with the following details:  SEND*PIN*4DigitPassword *PHPDenomination* Country Code Mobile Number. 
gotalk will send your receipt via a text message.

PRESS RELEASE –  13 August 2007

As an industry first, calling card rates are now available as a postpaid service in Australia! 
 
• gotalk’s new VIP Home Phone, launched today, plugs into your existing wall socket and slashes call costs! 
• ezichat’s override technology gives customers long distance, international and mobile phone card rates.

gotalk is excited to announce the addition of VIP Home Phone to its extensive range of prepaid Telco products. As an industry first, calling card rates are now available as a postpaid service in Australia! 

gotalk’s VIP Home Phone gives users automatic access to low calling card rates from home, with the convenience of a postpaid account. “There’s no PIN to enter and no contract – just great rates!”, CEO Steve Picton said today.

The gotalk VIP Home Phone automatically gives you calling card rates from gotalk’s wholly owned subsidiary cardcall – the major phone card distributor in Australia.

“It’s simple to use, with unbelievable long distance, international and calls to mobile rates – just plug the handset into your VIP Home Phone landline and start saving!” Mr. Picton said. 

“gotalk’s VIP Home Phone offers users the best of both worlds - cardcall’s great phonecard rates direct from their home phone and the ease and convenience of postpaid.  All people need to do to sign up is ring 1800 468 255 and speak to one of our friendly customer service team” he said. 

gotalk VIP Home Phone:

• Slash $$$ off your phone bills!
• Calling card rates
• No PIN number required
• Just plug it in and start saving
• Prepaid tariffs, postpaid convenience
• Only pay for what you use, after you use it
• One single invoice
• Competitive landline rental included

“We believe gotalk’s VIP Home Phone will be very popular – not only because it cuts long distance call costs and is simple to use but customers seem relieved it doesn’t need to be connected to a computer or the internet,” he said.
 
The phone, which sits in a rechargeable base unit, operates as a “normal” landline phone – “just charge it up, plug it in and dial” according to Steve Picton.

PRESS RELEASE – 2 August 2007
 
gotalk launches Skype attack in Australia and New Zealand
 
PhoneChoice survey shows gotalk’s prepaid VoIP cheaper overall than Skype Pro, based on typical usage.

In an industry first, fast growing Tier 2 telco gotalk limited today announced that they have this month added prepaid VoIP to its entire range of Australian and New Zealand Cardcall phonecards – making its service directly competitive with Skype – the world’s most popular VoIP service.
(NOTE: Skype, a unit of eBay, has 196 million registered users internationally – including Australia.)

cardcall, a fully owned gotalk subsidiary, is the major phonecard distributor in Australia and New Zealand – recently adding Telstra’s “Say G’day” and “Super Buzz” international calling cards to their extensive stable.
 
gotalk CEO Steve Picton said today that gotalk prepaid VoIP will enable phonecard users to make huge savings by sending their calls over the internet, instead of using the regular telephone network. The only requirements are a broadband internet connection, a PC and a microphone/headset.
 
The customer benefits of prepaid VoIP are considerable, including:
 
·          Free registration
·          Free quality softphone
·          Free additional local telephone number
·          Free VoIP to VoIP calls within Australia and within New Zealand (not between)
·          Free connection fee option on all calls
·          Free Voicemail
·          No Contracts
·          No monthly account fee
·          Extensive Australia and NZ coverage
·          Untimed local and national calls at a low 10c
·          Low cost rates to mobiles (24c timed)
·          Low cost calling card rates to all destinations
·          Quality 24 hour Customer Care helpline
 
Mr. Picton, who last week became Queensland’s Technology and Telecommunications Entrepreneur of the Year, said he was delighted to announce the addition of prepaid VoIP to gotalk’s extensive range of prepaid Telco products.
 
“A recent research project undertaken by PhoneChoice, “Home Phone and Internet Provider Comparison (July 2007)” specifically compared gotalk prepaid VoIP with Skype Pro. Based on typical usage, the PhoneChoice survey clearly showed gotalk’s prepaid VoIP was cheaper overall than Skype’s Pro,” Mr. Picton said.

"When you add in the fact that gotalk is an Australian owned company, a full service telco business offering 24/7 locally available customer service – (as opposed to Skype who can only be contacted by email) – I believe gotalk can be seen to be a more than competitive alternative to Skype,” Mr. Picton said.
 
“The same survey showed gotalk’s international phone call charges were between 57% and 77% cheaper than all of its Australian competitors – Telstra, Optus, AAPT, Primus and Dodo – so there are a number of reasons for customers to change to gotalk for all their telco services.”
 
“The new gotalk prepaid VoIP service will enable customers to access the phonecard’s super cheap rates either from their PC (VoIP access) or conveniently from any telephone they choose (phonecard access)”, he said. 
 
“gotalk prepaid VoIP offers users a first class VoIP service with the best of both worlds - cardcall’s great phonecard rates and the flexibility and control of prepay. gotalk prepaid VoIP is simple to download and easy to use, with so many benefits that it is an ideal option for new VoIP users - and a very attractive alternative for anyone currently using or considering Skype.”

“Users of existing phonecards simply need to visit http://www.gotalk.com.au/prepaidvoip/ select 'Get Prepaid VoIP' and enter their existing PIN number and contact email address. Customers will then receive a softphone download via email and off they go to make phonecalls through VoIP - it is THAT easy,” Mr. Picton said.

Retailers benefit from our gotalk prepaid VoIP service because it results in:

An increase in the number of customers that make purchases (including customers that have moved away from phonecards to use other VoIP services such as Skype)

An increase in traffic to retail sites, allowing retailers to cross sell other products (example Internet cafe user now purchasing a phonecard in store and using the credit on the Internet Cafe PC, plus purchasing snacks / drinks while using the service).

The ability to offer customers this great new product feature without the need to stock anything other than the great range of cardcall phonecards or cardcall vouchers.

PRESS RELEASE – 23 July 2007

• GOTALK  CEO STEVE PICTON WINS QUEENSLAND TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNICATIONS AND E-COMMERCE ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD:

The prestigious annual award, presented at a gala dinner in Brisbane last Thursday, is supported by Austrade, AusIndustry and is sponsored by the Westpac Business Bank and Qantas.

Founded and produced internationally by Ernst & Young, and launched in Australia in 2001, the award puts Mr. Picton in line to win the title of Australian Entrepreneur Of The Year in the national finals to be held in Melbourne on November 29 - the winner of which will represent his country at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year held annually in June in Monte Carlo. Previous International Entrepreneur Of The Year winners have included Scott McNealy, Sun Microsystems (1987), Michael Dell, Dell Computer (1989); Howard Schultz, Starbucks (1991); Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com (1997); Eddie Jordan, Jordan Grand Prix (2000); and Narayana Murthy, Infosys Technologies (2003).

Last year Steve Picton’s fast growing prepaid mobile, internet, broadband voice (VoIP) and phone card telco gotalk limited debuted at No.262 in the prestigious BRW fastest growing Top 500 private company list with an annual turnover of $154 million and 264 staff in Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to forming gotalk  (formerly Telecorp Limited) in March 2000 with high profile Trevor Rowe, ASX Director, Chancellor of Bond University and Chairman, Investment Banking, NM Rothschild & Sons, Australia, Steve Picton, was Group Director, Strategic Development, AAPT. 

“As a relatively small player in a large market dominated by the likes of Telstra and Optus, I am extremely proud of the fact that although gotalk is a small fish in a big pond, it owns 20 percent market share of all international traffic originating from Australia made through our switching center in Sydney’s Castlereagh Street. In the prepaid phone card market, gotalk  is the market leader with approximately 60 percent of that segment, having recently purchased Telstra’s international calling cards, Say G’day and Super Buzz, ” Picton said.

Last year provided a major turning point for the business with gotalk becoming the first company worldwide to launch a combined prepaid VoIP, mobile and calling card in one, plus a prepaid wireless broadband service and a portable VoIP device which allows connection to VoIP service wherever the user is. 

The telco continues to develop and deliver innovative products across a range of prepaid mobile, internet, broadband voice (VoIP) and phone card services all from the one account. gotalk provides a range of wholesale and retail telecommunication services through its own state of the art exchange switching centre in Sydney's Castlereagh Street which today handles over a billion international minutes per year which in turn equates to 20% of all Australian outbound international call traffic. gotalk also provides a range of postpaid products, including fixed line voice, mobile, broadband and dial up internet, broadband voice (VoIP). One of the main strengths of gotalk is its ability to distribute product through its cardcall subsidiary, which has a 30,000 strong retailer network in Australia and New Zealand.

gotalk has a large operations centre located at Robina on Queensland’s Gold Coast. The telco has established strong corporate partnerships with Harvey Norman, BP, Caltex, Woolworths, Coles, Domayne, Dick Smith, Tandy, Harris Technology and Australia Post. With the acquisition of Green Communications, XL Telecom, FLOW and Alpha in 2003, this allowed gotalk to offer additional services and technologies as well as a number of existing commercial agreements with Telstra.

“It has been an interesting journey over the last 7 years with many challenges, however we continue to both succeed in an extremely competitive environment and do so within a culture where entrepreneurs are recognised and supported. I am sure we will share many more years of success and I am sure further recognition of our achievements will follow,” Picton said.

PRESS RELEASE – 1 June 2007

gotalk buys Telstra’s Say G’Day and Super Buzz International Calling Cards

Fast growing telecommunications company, gotalk limited, today announced it had signed an agreement to purchase Telstra’s international calling cards, Say G’day and Super Buzz that will take effect late June.

The transaction will involve gotalk’s acquisition of a solid and growing customer base of around 110,000 international phonecard users and the opportunity to access the existing distribution network of electronic terminal and Australia Post outlets.

Telstra will continue to provide its Telstra PhoneAway and Telstra Phonecard that provides people with prepaid calling cards to make local and international calls.

gotalk provides a wide range of consumer and wholesale telecommunication services through its own switching centre in Sydney, which handles over a billion international minutes per year which in turn equates to an estimated 20% of all Australian outbound international call traffic. gotalk operates an extensive and highly successful retail business both in Australia and New Zealand focused on the prepaid services and VoIP/Broadband markets.

According to gotalk CEO Steve Picton, the acquisition of Telstra’s Say G’Day and Super Buzz international phone cards is part of gotalk’s customer growth strategy, through both acquisitions and new service launches.

“The addition of two such well known and recognised cards to our own extensive phonecard stable will consolidate our position as the market leader in the phone card market and provide an enlarged customer base to service with our extensive range of prepaid and postpaid telecommunications services” Mr. Picton said.

gotalk’s recently launched prepaid services include Australia’s first prepaid wide-area broadband wireless service (powered by iBurst), a prepaid mobile service which incorporates highly competitive international calling and an exclusive prepaid ringtone/music download service in combination with the world’s biggest music company, Universal Music.

The phone card market in Australia is highly competitive and is one whose scale delivers significant commercial advantage.  Currently it is estimated that there are around 80 different competing phone cards on offer from at least 8 suppliers.

Say G’Day and Super Buzz are prepaid calling cards, available in nine language options (English, French Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Indonesian, Japanese Korean and Thai). The calling cards are available in three formats – physical card, electronic voucher and online.

The cards can be used for local, long distance, mobile – including calls to and from global satellite services, international calls in Australia and calls from most touchtone phones.

Customers with existing Say G’Day and Super Buzz calling cards can continue to use these cards until they expire.

PRESS RELEASE – 26 April 2007

D-Link signs gotalk broadband/VoIP partnership

• VoIP/Broadband telco gotalk limited to announces alliance with international networking specialist D-Link at CeBIT.
• During CeBIT,  gotalk specialists will demonstrate gotalk’s latest ADSL2+ offer on the D-Link Stand E20 each day at 12noon and 3pm 

Highly successful Telco gotalk limited will announce the detail of a formal “Preferred Partner” alliance they have signed with global networking hardware specialist D-Link at next week’s CeBIT, Darling Harbour May 1 – 3.

According to gotalk CEO Steve Picton, the relationship will cover a wide range of Broadband and VoIP products as well as joint development of future telecommunications bundles.

D-Link is a worldwide leading designer, developer and manufacturer of Networking, Connectivity, Voice and Data communications products for mass consumer, small to medium business and enterprise market segments. gotalk limited is a fast growing, profitable, Australian owned, publicly unlisted, full service telco company with sales in excess of $160 million per annum and over 350 staff in Australia. It is the dominant multi million dollar phone card provider in both Australia and New Zealand and recently announced an exclusive mobile content download deal with the world’s biggest music company, Universal Music.

The partnership with D-Link will cover Australia and NZ.

gotalk recently (January 19) changed its distributor model, signing agreements with Blue Chip Infotech, Ingram Micro and Synnex Australia.

“We believe our new agreement with D-Link will make the gotalk range even more attractive in the marketplace,” Mr. Picton said.

“Very simply, this means we buy and recommend D-Link hardware and they recommend and bundle gotalk services,” Mr. Picton said today. “Each Dlink ATA and selected Modems will now be preconfigured with gotalk settings, making customer setup extremely easy, and both companies will undertake joint marketing activity including advertising, trade show and other channel promotions,” Mr. Picton said.
 
gotalk limited recently announced a $14.95 per month 900Mb data allowance ADSL2+ broadband service which “makes the alliance very market friendly indeed” according to Maurice Famularo, Marketing Director Australia & New Zealand, D-Link Australia Pty. Ltd. “We look forward to a mutually profitable relationship with much growth potential in what is a very competitive sector.”

gotalk provides a range of wholesale and retail telecommunication services through its own state of the art exchange switching centre in Sydney's Castlereagh Street, which handles over a billion international minutes per year - this equates to over 20% of all Australian outbound international call traffic. The company concentrates on a range of prepaid mobile, internet, broadband voice (VoIP) and phonecard services all from the one account.  gotalk also provides a range of post paid products including fixed line voice, mobile, broadband and dial up internet and broadband voice (VoIP) from  a large operations centre located at Robina on Queensland's Gold Coast, while its corporate office  is  located in Sydney. The telco has established strong corporate partnerships with Harvey Norman, BP, Caltex, Woolworths, Coles, Domayne, Dick Smith, Tandy, Australia Post and Harris Technology. 

In August last year, gotalk (formerly named Telecorp Limited)  debuted at No. 262 in the prestigious BRW fastest growing Top 500 Private Companies list. In the same month, the Board voted to change the parent company name from Telecorp to gotalk limited.

gotalk is a proud member of the Communications Alliance. The Communications Alliance Ltd is an association that was formed in 2006 from the merger of the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) and Service Providers Association Inc (SPAN).  It was created to provide a unified voice for the Australian communications industry and to lead it into the next generation of converging networks, technologies and services.