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SINGAPORE – 14 July 2006 – Following its recent S$9.5 million acquisition of a Singapore Internet Service Provider (“ISP”), NetPlus Communications Pte Ltd, mainboard-listed MediaRing Limited (“MediaRing” or the “Group”) is rolling out its next phase of strategic investments – this time in Africa.

The Group is extending and expanding its VOIP services in Africa through strategic partnerships with key communications service providers in that continent.

Africa - MediaRing Africa Ltd and Vipafone Proprietary Ltd

MediaRing today announced that it has formed a joint venture in Africa with Asia Venture Investments Limited (“AVIL”), a strategic partner of the Global Telecom Group (“Global Telecom”). MediaRing will own 40% of the joint venture company, MediaRing Africa Ltd (“MediaRing Africa”), while AVIL will take up the remaining 60%.

As a first step, MediaRing Africa will acquire the entire business of an established voice services provider based in Angola.

Simultaneously, MediaRing announced that it has also taken a 40% stake in Vipafone Proprietary Ltd (“Vipafone”), a telecommunications service provider in South Africa that is owned by Global Telecom. Global Telecom will continue to hold the balance of 60%. The initial investments by MediaRing, AVIL and Global Telecom in these partnerships in Africa amount to approximately US$1.5 million.

Through these strategic partnerships, MediaRing will expand its market share in voice services on the African continent. In addition, MediaRing also intends to roll out data services through the application of an ISP license.

Global Telecom is a significant player in the African telecommunications industry with an expansive distribution network and extensive business connections in the continent. It has more than 30 years of experience in providing turnkey telecommunications solutions to carriers, cellular operators and large ISPs in Africa.

MediaRing’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Khaw Kheng Joo said “MediaRing’s game plan has always been to achieve organic and inorganic business growth. In this respect, our alliance with Global Telecom is in line with our strategy of entering key markets by partnering with strong players.”

He continued, “The objective of this venture is to create a pan African telecommunications service company utilizing leading edge technologies such as VoIP, WIMAX and VSAT. We believe that this market has significant growth potential and we are confident of garnering VoIP market share on the continent.”

According to reports by Gartner Dataquest in August 2005, the total retail telecommunications services for South Africa and the rest of Middle East and Africa was estimated at US$80.9 billion in 2005. Of this, South Africa alone contributed US$9.3 billion.

Elaborating on the recent investments Mr Khaw said, “Our goal is to become a significant global telecommunications provider and MediaRing is moving strongly ahead with our dual approach of organic growth and strategic M&A to achieve that goal. At the end of the day, we hope to deliver maximum value to our shareholders.”

Since September last year till to date, MediaRing has acquired and or invested in a number of companies in Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore and now Africa in a bid to expand its operations and geographic presence.

About MediaRing
Headquartered in Singapore, and with subsidiaries or rep offices in Malaysia, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Silicon Valley (Sunnyvale, CA) USA, MediaRing is the leading VoIP telephony service provider in Asia and enjoys a significant share of the global VoIP market. Through its strong technological capabilities and extensive call termination network, MediaRing brings high-quality voice services to carriers, enterprises, service providers, and consumers with its wide range of service offerings. Its extensive partnerships with carriers around the world allow call terminations in more than 240 countries worldwide. As a pioneer in VoIP services with unique proprietary technology, MediaRing derives more than 95 per cent of its revenue from outside Singapore.

Media Contacts:

Singapore: August Consulting
Tel: (65) 6733 8873 Fax: (65) 6733 9913
Silvia HENG – silvia@august.com.sg
Lynn LI – lynn@august.com.sg