STP.L Regulatory News (STP)

1 Nov 2007 07:01

Spiritel PLC01 November 2007 For release at 0700, 1 November 2007 SPIRITEL plc ("Spiritel" or "the Group") EXCLUSIVE AGREEMENT WITH VIRGIN MOBILE TO PARTNER SPIRITEL'S 118 918 DIRECTORIES SERVICE LARGEST AMOUNT PER CALL TO BE DONATED TO CHARITY Spiritel plc (AIM: STP), the telecommunications services business, announces anexclusive agreement with Virgin Mobile to launch a new directory enquiries("DQ") service. The service is to be marketed to Virgin Mobile's four millionsubscribers and other DQ users, and from every call made 20 pence will go tocharity. The service will compete with the UK's other major directory enquirynumbers and offer the same service, but crucially customers will be making asubstantial donation to Virgin Mobile's selected children's charities from eachcall. At 20p from every call, the charitable donation is the largest from any118 service in the UK. Using Spiritel's UK-based managed DQ service, Virgin Mobile has launched the newservice as part of its Social Investment Programme. Virgin Mobile will chargeusers the same amount or less for calls to most other 118 numbers and will nottake any additional revenue share itself from the calls but will donate 20 penceper call to its selected charities: Kid's Company and Foyer. The new service islaunched today and can be called from any mobile or fixed line provider wherethe network operator allows access. The potential financial benefits to Virgin Mobile's nominated charities from thenew service are striking. The UK directory enquiry market is currently estimatedto be worth almost £200 million per year, the equivalent of 360 million calls.Virgin Mobile currently has four million customers to market this servicedirectly to - but fixed line and non Virgin Mobile customers are also able touse the service and thereby donate to charity at the same time. Commenting on the launch Alastair Mills, CEO of Spiritel said: "We are delightedto have been chosen by Virgin Mobile to host their directory enquiry service andcontribute towards their Social Investment Programme. The new service willprovide the opportunity for consumers to make a significant contribution to goodcauses without spending any more money. 118 918 is cheaper than the serviceprovided by The Number and we hope that Virgin Mobile's new service gainssignificant market share. The partnership also builds on Spiritel's experiencein the provision of managed DQ services and demonstrates our ability to provideinnovative communications solutions for major UK service providers. "It is an exciting partnership and we are looking forward to working closelywith Virgin Mobile to ensure this project is an immense success for everyoneinvolved." Tim Dowling, Director of Consumer Proposition, Virgin Mobile added: "KidsCompany and Foyer are two incredible charities, offering invaluable support toyoung people. Virgin Mobile is excited to be launching this new service providedby Spiritel and we look forward to making a difference for young people thisChristmas and beyond." For further information please visit www.spiritelplc.com or contact: Spiritel plc Tavistock CommunicationsAlastair Mills Simon HudsonChief Executive Clemmie CarrTel: +44 20 7160 0100 Tel: +44 20 7920 3150 Note to Editors Spiritel Spiritel is a telecommunications group which seeks to take advantage of theopportunities created by rapidly changing telecoms markets in the UK as themigration to Internet Protocol (IP) based delivery accelerates. The Group is aconsolidator of the highly fragmented UK telecoms reseller market and aims tobuild a substantial customer base and scale through selective acquisitions. Weare organised into two divisions, Spiritel Technologies - which focuses on ourinfrastructure and IP products and services - and Spiritel Business whichprovides our customer services. Today, the Group offers a broad range of telecommunications services andproducts to a customer base of small and medium sized enterprises and anincreasing number of larger national organisations. We are a leader in theprovision of new, but proven, Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions that are firmlybased on the old fashioned service values which run throughout the Group. Virgin Mobile Virgin Mobile is the UK's largest mobile virtual network operator and usesT-Mobile's network. Since its launch in November 1999, Virgin Mobile hasattracted more than four million customers. Virgin Mobile is part of VirginMedia. The first company to be able to offer 'Quadplay' services to customerscomprising of landline, TV mobile and broadband. The Charities Kids Company is a London-based charity that offers practical, emotional andeducational support to vulnerable inner-city children and young people. ThisChristmas, they are expecting around 800 kids to drop in for lunch on ChristmasDay and Virgin Mobile's customers donations will help to ensure they're ready tocater a festive meal to remember. www.kidsco.org.uk There are 135 UK Foyer centres which offer 10,000 young people who may be youngoffenders, care leavers, refugees or at risk due to family breakdown, a chanceto get back on their feet through accommodation, job search, personal supportand motivation. Foyer will be launching various schemes to guarantee the youngpeople in their care throughout the festive season have a great and memorableChristmas. www.foyer.net - Ends - This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange