Audio Conferencing and Web Conferencing

Company Launching Next Generation Technology for Audio and Web Conferencing

PORTLAND, OR (Sept.12, 2003) - Encounter Collaborative today announced that Ian Widger has joined Encounter as Board member and technology advisor. The privately-held company was formed three years ago to build both a technology and marketing structure to place control of both web and audio conferencing solutions in the hands of the users.

"Initially, one of the biggest concerns that Encounter's founders had was that existing technology presented three major barriers: It was not intuitive to use, participants were required to learn and use different technologies depending on the size of their conferences and purchasing was done by contract, rather than credit card," stated Bruce Frydenlund, president and CEO of Encounter. "Ian's background in telecom, voice and technology, his ability to visualize markets before others and his keen understanding as to why people buy, lends itself to guiding Encounter at this stage of its development - and we are pleased that Ian has joined our team."

Prior to Encounter and as the former president and CEO of AccessLine Communications, Widger identified IP telephony as an emerging area and formed the first of two companies to address and leverage the Internet. The first, Networks Telephony Corporation, a spin-off of Infonet Services Corporation, was the second company to launch VoIP globally. Subsequently Widger co-founded Enhanced Communications and Telephone to develop networking strategies and protocols, as well as call routing software currently distributed by Costco and incorporated within AccessLine's core systems.

Widger's expertise in telecommunications was gained over the previous fifteen years with companies ranging from Infonet Services Corporation to Sprint and Plessy Communications, Ltd., one of the two UK telecommunication giants. Among his prior senior management responsibilities were serving as Sprint's Managing Director for Northern Europe, Infonet's Executive Vice President of Marketing and Global Strategies and Chairman of the Board of Infonet Software Solutions.

"I am pleased to assist Encounter as it launches new products geared to making web and audio conferencing easy to access, intuitive to use, affordable and easy to purchase. Being true to its goals, the company is making the tools of conferencing look more like commodities, which is where they belong and I anticipate accelerating these efforts in the coming months," Widger observed.

About Encounter Collaborative
Encounter Collaborative is a leader in comprehensive audio and web conferencing solutions for the enterprise. Encounter provides, on a global scale, seamless conferencing solutions that enable users to collaborate spontaneously and in real time. Headquartered in Portland, OR, Encounter's services include integrated audio and web conferencing that ensure predictability, reliability and security. For more information, please visit www.encounter.net or call 1.800.290.5900.