Deal With Qualcomm Boosts Net2Phone Shares

Net2Phone Inc., which provides long-distance telephone service by routing calls over the Internet, said its services will be promoted and sold with Qualcomm Inc.’s e-mail software Eudora, sending Net2Phone’s shares up 20%. After the markets closed, Net2Phone said its fiscal first-quarter loss widened to $8.37 million, or 17 cents a share, from $1.23 million, or 4 cents, a year ago, as spending to increase services more than tripled. Revenue more than doubled to $13.1 million. Net2Phone’s shares soared $10.88 to close at $63.88 on Nasdaq on news of the agreement with Qualcomm. Terms of the pact weren’t disclosed. A co-branded calling card will allow Eudora users to make calls and send faxes over Net2Phone’s network at reduced rates. As part of the agreement, Net2Phone will sponsor a new version of Eudora that displays advertisements in the lower corner of the e-mail window.