CHICAGO, Oct. 17, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inteliquent, Inc. (NASDAQ: IQNT ), a premier interconnection partner for communications service providers of all types, today announced it is part of a group making a combined $9 million investment in Zipwhip, the startup that made it possible for consumers to text businesses on their existing phone numbers.
Inteliquent’s strategic investment in Zipwhip coincides with the company’s increasing focus on enabling the next generation communications sector with the Omni IQ SM suite of high quality voice, messaging and direct inward dial (DID) services. This exciting new product portfolio is fueling a range of innovative services for its Omni IQ customers to meet their need for intelligent, software-enabled networks. Collaborating with Zipwhip further extends the capabilities of Omni IQ, and provides businesses with a complete, one-stop-shop solution to transform how they use communications networks to reach their customers.
“We are excited to partner with Zipwhip, an innovator that is revolutionizing consumer-to-business texting and making a major impact on our industry,” said Brett Scorza, Inteliquent’s Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President of Next Generation Services. “This investment furthers Inteliquent’s partnership with Zipwhip, extending our reach with joint sales opportunities, and enables both companies to expand their addressable markets by integrating capabilities into their respective product portfolio.”
Zipwhip will become a customer of Omni IQ and have access to the company’s extensive DID footprint, voice capabilities and Inter-Carrier SMS/MMS network. In a similar fashion, Inteliquent will integrate Zipwhip’s toll free number text enablement capability into Omni IQ. This will further enhance the value offered to the rapidly growing portfolio of next generation service providers by providing a comprehensive texting platform that includes toll free message capabilities. Additionally, the companies will explore other collaborative opportunities to strengthen their respective positions in the messaging and next generation communications marketplace.
“Inteliquent’s commitment to innovation and its reputation as one of the nation’s highest quality and most reliable voice and messaging networks is something we admire,” said John Lauer, Zipwhip’s Chief Executive Offer and Co-Founder. “We look forward to continuing to grow our business with the support of such a notable and innovative industry leader.”
About Inteliquent Inteliquent is a premier interconnection partner for communication service providers of all types. As the nation’s highest quality provider of voice and messaging interconnection services, Inteliquent is used by nearly all national and regional wireless carriers, cable companies, and CLECs in the markets it serves, and its network carries approximately 21 billion minutes of traffic per month. With the recent launch of its Omni IQ solution, Inteliquent is now also fully dedicated to supporting the growing market of next generation service providers. For more information about Inteliquent, visit www.inteliquent.com .
About Zipwhip Zipwhip is a Seattle-based business texting SaaS provider who pioneered the concept of utilizing the cloud to enable existing landline, VoIP, and toll free numbers to send and receive text messages from any connected device. Additionally, Zipwhip offers a carrier-grade cloud texting platform to help mobile and landline operators modernize the texting medium. Its technology introduces trailblazing functionality while holding true to the distinct culture of texting that consumers have grown to love.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this press release are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipates," "believes," "efforts," "expects," "estimates," "projects," "proposed," "plans," "intends," "may," "will," "would," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: our ability to market the Omni IQ voice and messaging services, including the risk that the service will not meet our targets for revenue or profitability, including EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA; the risks associated with any receiving carrier’s refusal to accept terminating messages or other problems preventing us from providing messaging services; the risk that our costs to provide the Omni IQ voice and messaging services will be higher than we expect; the effects of competition and downward pricing pressure resulting from such competition; and other important factors included in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2015, as such Risk Factors may be updated from time to time in subsequent reports. Furthermore, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
Media Contact: Tabitha Long 1+ 312.384.8018 tlong@inteliquent.com
