Cape Girardeau September 16, 2004—Big River Telephone announces the release of a new web based teleconferencing system, complete with on-demand features and an interactive web interface to control conference calls.

The Big River Teleconferencing Center gives the user total control of the conference call by means of a web-enabled interface. This is a locally created product, with the expertise of Big River Telephone software engineers using Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology.

VOIP technology allows conference call users to see what is occurring during the audio conference. The moderator, or “leader,” of the call can now manage a more productive teleconference call from his desk by simply using his own computer and a browser. For example, many users of this type of service often wonder who all is on their call and who might be speaking at any give time. With VOIP technology, the Big River Teleconference Center displays real-time information on every caller. All the features and functionality are at the moderator’s finger tips and no additional equipment or special software is needed.

“One of the most beneficial features of the system is that everything is on demand… you don’t even have to schedule the call, just dial the toll free access number, fire up the browser, enter in your code and you are ready for business,” said Kevin Cantwell, President, Big River Telephone.

To use the real-time interactive website, customers simply go to www.bigriverconference.com and type in their assigned moderator and participant codes. (Screen as seen above) Once customers have entered the web based teleconferencing platform, they can choose to visit a current call that is taking place, listen to previously recorded conversations, or view a list of the recent conversations.

“Customers have already use this web based application for sales calls, internal meetings, investor updates, and human resource interviews,” stated Cantwell, “We even had a huge surge over the last few weeks for Fantasy Football drafts”.

Big River Telephone, with over twenty years of experience, is one of the oldest competitive telephone company providers in the country, as well as the largest in the region. The Cape Girardeau-based company operates a fixed wireless network that delivers local, long distance, data, and Internet services to residences and businesses. Big River Telephone brings network service solutions to eastern Missouri, southern Illinois, and western Kentucky, and has the capabilities to meet customer business needs throughout the United States.