Net2Phone Acquires iPing

Web telephony firm Net2Phone Inc. has finalized a deal to acquire Web-based events and notification service iPing, Inc.

Net2Phone plans to integrate iPing’s proprietary time- and event-triggered notification service into its Voice Hosting subsidiary, which sells B2B customer service applications.

A company spokesperson said Net2Phone traded its equity stake in Philadelphia-based eCal to acquire all the assets of iPing, which had been a part of eCal.

iPing, known mostly for its ‘Mr Wake Up’ service, which allowed Web users to free wake-up or reminder calls in the U.S and Canada, will find new life as a strict B2B service.

Net2Phone plans to market the iPing service to businesses that want to automate customer service applications. It could potentially be a useful tool for marketing and promotion.

For instance, an airline could potentially use an iPing alert to tout upgrades on flight and travel reservations. Or, a delinquent Blockbuster video renter could get an automated telephone notification of a missed deadline.

Or, an online shopper at Amazon.com can request that an automatic alert be sent to a mobile phone to explain an order delay or confirm a shipping date.

Because Net2Phone’s voice hosting arm is customized specifically for business clients, each iPing alert would have to be tailored based on specific needs and the company has already shut down the iPing consumer service while it works to marry the technologies.

iPing’s interactive messaging technology could also be used to send alerts and notifications from the Internet to a telephone, pager, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) e-mail and other Internet devices.