Deltathree

Deltathree Inc. is an American company engaged in the business of voice over IP telephony services. The company was one of the first in the world to offer a telephony service over the internet, reducing the cost of international calls by over 90 percent. Users can either use the free softdialer product and make calls through their computer, or sign up for the broadband phone service and receive an Analog Telephony Adapter (ATA) or the linksys PAP2 device. Both devices allows users to plug a standard phone into their internet connection and make calls independent of the PC. History Deltathree was founded in 1996 by Dmitry Goroshevsky, Sophia Babkove, , Elie Wurtman and Jacob Ner David to develop an Internet-based international low cost calling service using VoIP technology, and a "PC to Phone" solution, using a technology developed by Israeli company VocalTec Communications. RSL Communications, an investment firm owned by Ronald Lauder, acquired a majority stake in Deltathree the following year, before the company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in November 1999. Elie Wurtman served as CEO from the company's founding until the November 1999 IPO. During that time, Wurtman completed the first historic transcontinental phone-to-phone VoIP call with FCC Chairman Reed Hundt. In 2001, RSL Communications sold its stake in the company to billionaire entrepreneur Yitzhak Tshuva who later sold his shares at a profit. In 2001, the original company founders left to start a new company, CrossOptix, that developed ultra-high speed optical interconnect solutions; Noam Bardin was appointed as CEO, Bardin left in 2007 and later become CEO of popular GPS application Waze.