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Consumers Nationwide Save Over $120 Million Using New Free Directory Assistance Service 1-800-FREE411 hits chord with both consumers who are tired of paying the steadily increasing high costs of traditional 411 services and value conscious consumers who previously didn’t use 411 services

October 05, 2006 – Menlo Park, Calif.Consumers have flocked to recently introduced free directory assistance (DA) services, saving themselves more than $120 million during the last year by using 1-800-FREE411, according to figures released today by Jingle Networks. Americans have made more than 80 million calls to the revolutionary service since its introduction last year, transforming the $7.4 billion DA industry virtually overnight.

California residents led the nation in calling 1-800-FREE411, saving its consumers more than $16 million during the past year. Texas placed second with over $10 million in savings, followed by Florida with $9 million, Michigan with almost $8 million, and Illinois rounding out the top five with $7 million. Other states featured in the top 10 list of top states’ savings include Georgia, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and North Carolina. A comprehensive list of the top 25 states with over $1 million in total savings appears below.

According to a recent survey by market researcher comScore Networks, more than 70 percent of consumers strongly believe that 411 services should be provided free of charge. The study also found that 88 percent of consumers would definitely or probably use a free DA service more frequently than a paid service.

Additional research from the Pierz Group has found that there have been significant price increases in the market over the past two years, with some customers seeing as much as a 238 percent increase within the past 12 months. For example, major carriers including Verizon (New Jersey), Cingular and Bell South have raised their prices for directory assistance over the past two months by $0.50, $0.29 and $0.16, respectively.

Instead of paying between $1 and $2 for each call, consumers calling 1-800-FREE411 may hear short marketing offers and are then given the opportunity to either respond or to continue with their lookup request. The services otherwise offer the same lookup services as paid directory assistance services. 1-800-FREE411 now accounts for approximately three percent of all U.S. directory assistance calls made each month.

“The growth in new free DA services has exceeded even the most aggressive initial forecasts,” said Kathleen Pierz, managing partner at industry analyst firm The Pierz Group. “Many consumers who did not use DA services in the past, some because of price sensitivity, are now using these free services. Others are just glad to save some money on their DA calls. The introduction of free services, that have the added benefit of a targeted discount or promotion, have begun to establish a loyal following with 1-800-FREE411 taking the lead in the marketplace.”

Below is a breakdown of the cumulative dollars saved by State on calls using the 1-800-FREE411 service from September 2005 through September 2006*:

* Based on average of $1.50 per call.

To view a complete list of states and the correlating statistics on consumer savings using 1-800-FREE411, please visit www.free411.com/consumersavings/.