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Tag: biztalk

  • MyGlobalTalk Prepares Single-SIM Mobile VoIP Solution

    INTERVIEW: Larry Stessel, CMO of i2Telecom, talks to voip.biz-news about a new mobile VoIP solution being readied for launch.
    The new technology will allow users to make low-cost international calls from anywhere in the world using one SIM card.

    i2Telecom’s MyGlobalTalk was the winner of voip.biz-news’ Product of the Year Award 2008.

    i2Telecom’s MyGlobalTalk (MGT) launched in the US last June as a Beta version for BlackBerry and non-smartphones.

    It allows users to bypass their current phone providers’ high international rates and use i2Telecom’s low VOIP Digital Service rates for international calls.

    Since then, support for MGT has expanded and now works on most smartphones – Blackberry, Android, Symbian or Windows devices, with the iPhone expected shortly – plus any cell phone, land line or computer.

    Larry Stessel, CMO of i2Telecom, told voip.biz-news that the current version of MGT worked "perfectly" for international calls made from the US.

    But he said that within the next few months new technology is to be introduced that allows users to call from anywhere in the world using one SIM card.

    Larry Stessel, CMO i2Telecom

    MGT’s goal has been to duplicate the ease with which callers’ were able to phone anywhere within the US – regardless of which state they were in – simply by dialling the number and not worrying about high call rates or complicated call-back systems.

    i2Telecom is also preparing a widgets launch which will allow MGT to be used from Outlook, iGoogle or Facebook.

    "A lot of companies offer the ability to call from overseas for reduced rates," said Stessel.

    "But the technology is often based on call-back systems. We wanted to create something simple.

    "We don’t want people to be carrying a pack of SIM cards when they travel overseas.

    "What we wanted to do was figure out a way to duplicate the American system.

    "In the next couple of months we will be offering a single SIM card that allows users to make calls abroad at the lowest price."

    iPhone Support Soon

    When using a smartphone the application auto detects any international call being made and instantly reroutes it over the MyGlobalTalk Digital Network.

    Stessel, a 30-year veteran of the music industry, said they were still awaiting approval of their application to Apple’s app store.

    But he said the beta worked "phenomenally" on the iPhone, with really fast connection times and crystal clear call quality.

    When the solution is used on home or business lines, callers have to dial an access number, then the international number before being connected.

    Stessel said the seed for MGT came from another of i2Telecom’s products, a flash drive Internet phone service called VoiceStick.

    He said when users sign up for that service they receive a 10-digit DID number as part of the package.

    "We realised that we were missing out a bit on the DID number and over the course of one day we started talking about its possibilities," he said.

    "We realised we could give customers the ability to call from any phone to any number at reduced rates.

    "The more we talked about it, the more excited we became and by the end of the day we had come up with MyGlobalTalk."

    That was in October 2007. Stessel said that over the next year i2Telecom’s technicians created the code that enabled MGT to be a one-touch call on smartphones.

    Users simply go into their contacts, select the one to call and the call goes through.

    By the beginning of September 2008, the Blackberry and Windows versions were completed.

    "We wanted to remove the step of dialling 10-digit numbers and then an international number," said Stessel.

    Aggressive Marketing Campaign

    Marketing of the product has so far been low-key, largely because resources have been used to create the server system and customer services. Everything is housed in a technology park in Atlanta, Georgia.

    That is about to change, according to Stessel, who said an aggressive marketing campaign is being prepared for the roll-out of the new technology, which he forecast would be by the end of June.

    "We have been very careful not to rush out a product overseas that is not ready," he said. "We wanted to get it right first time."

    Key markets for MGT are:

    • SMBs – companies ranging from 1 up to 2000 employees
    • Immigrants
    • Military

    Stessel said the i2Telecom team really understood business users’ needs.

    He said MGT could drastically reduce the cost of communications for enterprises – whether it was for calls abroad from the US or for employees who had to use their mobiles outside the US.

    "I don’t think we have a competitor," he said. "You can talk about Fring all day long, but there are complications with it. I think we are the best app on the market."

  • Turkish Mobile Market: Opportunity Beckons With Summer Launch of 3G Network

    INTERVIEW: Isik Uman, general manager of leading Turkish service provider Retromedya, talks to smartphone-biz.news about the rapidly changing mobile market in Turkey.
    With 3G going live this summer, the nation’s 66 million mobile subscribers are expected to take full advantage of new services – making it an appealing prospect for operators and service providers.

    Turkish consumers love their mobiles. As one of the fastest growing mobile markets in recent years, wireless penetration currently sits at 92 per cent.

    That’s pretty impressive – especially as Turkey doesn’t have handset subsidies.

    People buy their mobile phones and then choose their operator.

    Isik Uman, general manager of leading Turkish service provider Retromedya, said increasingly that decision is being driven by the demand for richer content – something that has progressed as rapidly as improvements to handsets and mobile networks.

    Build-up To 3G

    The potential for content is going to get even more interesting this summer when Turkey’s 3G network kicks in.

    And there is no shortage of hardware ready to use it.

    Even without handset subsidies, Uman said there were around 3.5 million 3G phones already being used in Turkey.

    "That’s 3.5 million potential users for it," he said.

    While there are no official figures, an estimated 300,000 iPhones have been sold in Turkey since it launched last summer.

    On top of that sales of other high-end handsets from HTC and Nokia – which has a 60 per cent share of the mobile market in Turkey – are strong.

    All this makes the country one of the more attractive markets for handset manufacturers.

    That is likely to continue as 3G is rolled out – with all the opportunities that will bring.

    Competition Intensifies

    The development is expected to pit operators head-to-head, with 3G and a host of new services – including LBS – being used as the hook with which to lure customers.

    As a result – and despite the global economic situation – Turkey’s mobile operators are projecting Turkish Lira-based growth this year.

    The country’s three GSM operators – Turkcell (37m subscribers), Vodafone (17m subscribers) and Avea (12m subscribers) – earned between them an estimated 13 billion Turkish Liras (approx. USD $10 billion) in 2008.

    But as Turkey is a large country – and requires a lot of base stations to provide coverage – average revenue per user (ARPU) is between USD $11-14.

    This hasn’t affected competition among the operators, which is fierce – especially following the introduction of mobile number portability in Turkey last November.

    More than 1 million subscribers have changed operator since it became available.

    The ability for users to switch operator has also led to the adoption of new marketing strategies from the operators, including the introduction of a subsidy-like model to retain or lure valuable customers.

    "Before we had number portability, people like business professionals, company owners, doctors, lawyers and so on didn’t want to change their mobile numbers," said Uman. "It just wasn’t acceptable.

    "Now with number portability, we will see subsidised handsets being used as a means to lure lucrative customers."

    Uman said it was also likely that flat-rate data tariffs would become more common when 3G goes live.

    He said this would obviously benefit service providers such as Retromedya.

    "We are counting on this as it will make our services more attractive and easier to use," he said.

    Retromeyda already offers content to all three operators in the form of:

    • music services
    • video content – downloading on-demand video
    • mobile games
    • interactive voting
    • mobile community and chat

    As well as providing consumer services, Retromedya also offers B2B gateway services to third party players in the market.

    Uman said these were white label services to companies that want to provide mobile services in Turkey.

    "We believe this year will be very interesting for the Turkish market," he said.

    "Commercial services will be very important and offer a big opportunity, which we are trying to address."

    Uman said there had been a lot of interest in Retromedya at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    He said this was a reflection on the potential revenue prospects Turkey’s mobile market offered service providers.

    "We provide the infrastructure for them so they can quickly introduce their services and operations," he said.

  • FutureDial's Mobile Content Solution Can Have "Huge Impact" On Operators' Revenue Potential

    INTERVIEW: Sanjiv Parikh, vice president of marketing for FutureDial, talks to smartphone-biz.news about its mobile content management service and its potential to generate revenue for operators and retailers.

    Apple has shown how its App Store can be a lucrative earner – and has inspired similar ventures from the likes of Google’s Android, Blackberry, Nokia and even the as-yet-unlaunched Palm Pre.

    But how can wireless operators and even retailers ensure they maximise their earnings from the lucrative mobile content market?

    Software company FutureDial believes it has the answer.

    Sanjiv Parikh, vice president of marketing for FutureDial, said its Retail Management Solution (RMS) 4.0 allows mobile content to be directly loaded to handsets at store counters – an industry first.

    He said the "Buy Content" feature enables retailers to sell user-selected content from an integrated online content site at a store counter.

    "Online content is still very difficult to access using phone browsers. It’s still not very user friendly," he said.

    "So when someone is buying a new phone, the store would ask if they want the content transferred from their old phone, but also if they are interested in games, applications, music files and so on for their new phone.

    "It’s an additional up-selling opportunity."

    Parikh said initial feedback suggested this new feature was having a "huge impact" on clients’ business.

    He said the idea was to provide operators or retailers with complete flexibility when it came to providing their own content.

    With this in mind, FutureDial also offers a solution to clients that have their own music or content portal.

    Main Markets

    RMS is supported on over 1000 handsets and this number is continually being added to – at a rate of 50 new handsets a month, if necessary.

    FutureDial’s main markets are the US and Europe, with a major UK carrier deal expected to be announced "shortly".

    Parikh said the latest version of RMS – launched at MWC in Barcelona last month – helps stores to close the sale on new phone purchases, maximize customer acquisition and retention, and increase ARPU.

    As well as allowing content downloads, RMS also offers users phone-to-phone content transfer, backup and restoration services across thousands of handset models at the store counter.

    The mobile content transfer service handles personal address books, pictures, calendars, messages, and audio/video files.

    A major addition in RMS 4.0 is an operation from a tablet-sized touch-screen online terminal called Talisman for "mobile personalization" services, either for use by store staff or as a customer self-service kiosk.

    Solution Aids Content Management

    Parikh said the content transfer, back-up and restore features of  RMS essentially address the issue of how consumers manage old phone content when switching handsets.

    He said it helps consumers move personal content – and to protect it by offering a backup and restore function.

    These aspects of the solution work in two ways.

    Firstly, with operators and equipment retail stores so that when a consumer switches phone, content can be transferred and backed-up at the store counter.

    He said that the more tech-savvy user was happy to do this themself at home – and FutureDial provides a product that connects mobiles to PCs to back-up and download content.

    Backing-up: "Complex & Tedious"

    But he said for many people it was a complex and tedious process.

    "What we found based on our home back-up offering is that many customers didn’t like to do this themselves," he said.

    "They would rather have someone do it for them and they are willing to pay for the service.

    "This has turned into a major opportunity for service providers."

    Around 70 per cent of stores using RMS charge for the service.

    Parikh said a fear of losing content and data – which often involves a huge investment of time and effort – also put many people off changing their handsets.

    But he said that even if they overcame that fear, simply by changing to a new phone could result in lost revenue for operators.

    "When users start with a new phone it can take up to 18 weeks before they come back to the original usage levels of the old phone," he said. "That’s a lot of user revenue lost."

    That wasn’t the case with RMS because content is instantly transferred onto a new handset – enabling usage to continue as before.

    Loyalty Has Rewards

    Parikh said RMS’s second function is to create loyalty in users by ensuring they return to stores for future back-ups – and so creating the potential for sales of sleeves, cover and other accessories.

    He said one US operator using RMS in hundreds of its stores had seen a marked upturn in user loyalty.

    "This loyalty element really helps operators avoid churn and sell more," he said. "It’s a revenue opportunity but it also give consumers the feeling that the service provider is taking care of them.

    "That’s a major element in such a fiercely competitive market."

    Please let us have your comments on RMS – will in-store content delivery and back-up appeal to the mass market?

  • GoHello Expands Mobile Virtual Phone System to US and Asia

    INTERVIEW: Francois Mazoudier, CEO of GoHello, tells VoIP.biz-news about its expansion plans and explains his vision for the future of business phone systems – which doesn’t include hardware PBXs.

    Francois Mazoudier likes to keep things simple and the CEO of GoHello seems to be winning plenty of people over to his way of thinking.

    GoHello offers – and has patented – an ALLmobile, virtual phone system that works on every mobile network in the country where it’s deployed, doesn’t require equipment and is not dependent on mobile operators.

    Over the next few months the London-based company will be announcing its expansion into new markets.

    Mazoudier said these include "two large Asian countries" where fixed line quality is often poor and business calls are already largely made on mobiles – making the GoHello application particularly well suited.

    Francois Mazoudier, CEO GoHello

    Already Europe’s leading ALLmobile, operator-independent phone system for business, GoHello is also in the process of building a network centre in the US – a market seen as having huge potential.

    "We are opening in a number of countries, including some big developments in Asia," he said.

    "Instead of just being a mad Scandanavian company with a mad idea, we will enter the mainstream."

    The rationale behind GoHello’s virtual phone system is pretty straightforward: Why buy expensive telecom equipment when you can have a feature-packed virtual system that is quick and easy to install and uses employees’ mobiles phones?

    So no fixed lines, no desktop phones – all that’s required is a broadband connection and the mobile network.

    It’s understandable that companies might be wary of getting rid of all their fixed lines.

    Mazoudier said the pattern was for GoHello to be trialled for a month in one department – usually sales – before being rolled out to the rest of the business.

    He said once companies saw how the system worked, that tended to be the route they took.

    "There is no reason why you would want to have the cost and long-term contract of a fixed line if you can have all the services on your mobile," he said.

    "We have nothing to install on a GSM phone – no software, no setting up. You can even take an old GSM phone and it works."

    Mobile Becomes Sole Phone

    Having said that, Mazoudier recommends companies buy employees a cheap Nokia phone, especially since the market is currently full of bargain deals.

    "Employees are told: ‘That’s your deskphone, but you can use it as a mobile’," he said.

    Although now headquartered in the UK, GoHello was founded in Denmark in 2001 and originally worked with mobile operators.

    It received widespread recognition for its efforts to build the first mobile PBX.

    Commercially, however, Mazoudier, who joined GoHello later, said it was a disaster and they realised the company needed to do something else.

    At the time, he was looking for an opportunity to build a software telecom company as an alternative to the conventional route of having to buy phone system hardware and enter into contractual agreements.

    "I went to mobile operators around the world and asked them if they had any plans for a PBX system in the sky," he said.

    "They looked at me as if I was mad – and I knew I had a great deal on my hands."

    Mazoudier said the system’s first trials were carried out in 2006 in Denmark and succesfully proved the software worked as well for small companies as it did for large employers with hundreds of handsets and multiple sites.

    Then in 2007, additional funding of €7 million allowed GoHello to go international.

    A factor which has undoubtedly aided GoHello has been the fact that mobiles – and particularly smartphones – are increasingly being used in enterprises – rather than fixed phones.

    Rapidly Changing US Market

    The US had not been included in GoHello’s original plans, according to Mazoudier, largely because the mobile culture was not as strong as in other parts of the world.
    But since the launch and success of the iPhone that has all changed.

    "The US is the land of IP telephony," he said. "And since the receiving party pays there, dialling a mobile is not as expensive as in the rest of the world.

    "Then the iPhone came in. In the past 18 months, people have begun to realise the value of working on their mobile phones – way beyond my wildest dreams."

    Mazoudier said he was now getting phone calls from large US companies – some with 10,000+ employes – asking when GoHello was being introduced in the US.

    Among those calls was one from Apple, which he said was particularly interested since employees have all been given iPhones.

    "They have a huge IP telephony installation that has just stopped being used," he said.

    "The US is out-pacing any other country in the world. Households are dropping fixed and cable in favor of mobiles, to the extent that within the next five years it’s estimated that 50 per cent of people will not have a fixed line."

    As a result, the US now presents a major opportunity for GoHello and Mazoudier said they realise they should have been there sooner: "We are now trying to catch up. We are now putting up a huge network operation centre."

    Crisis Accentuates Value

    Mazoudier said the current economic crisis had highlighted GoHappy’s value to companies.

    One advantage was that the system didn’t require the large capital investment that was usually the case when companies had to buy conventional telephone hardware.

    He said the fact that many companies were now centralising offices or re-locating to smaller premises also showed the advantages of not having to uninstall and re-install telecom hardware.

    "Every time you change office it’s a trigger point for us," he said. "With GoHello, you just have to take your mobiles with you.

    "That has created a lot of leads for us. It shows that if we can sell in a recession, then it must be an interesting service to have."

    Mazoudier said other new services were also being prepared to make life easier for mobile users.

    He said these included call transfering and call recording.

    These services are free to try and users will be able to activate and deactivate as they please.

    The company recently launched MyGoHello, a PC-based widget that handles all incoming calls, group calls, call forwarding calls, and so on.

    While users will still only have one phone – their mobile – they can use their PC to:

    • Handle incoming calls (accept / reject / forward to others / send to voicemail etc)
    • Handle incoming Group calls (if you’re a member of that group – pick up call, reject, forward to others etc)
    • Click To Dial. Select any number on the PC screen (any application / window, not just the browser), click and dial that number.
    • Click to Text. Select any number on the PC screen, click – send a text to that number. Select a group of users and broadcast a text message to everyone in a single click. Text are sent using the GoHello SMS centre

    Mazoudier knows there will be those who disagree with him.

    But he has no doubt that PBX hardware will become obsolete as enterprises move to virtual phone systems.

    "There is no reason to have a PBX in the office – it should be on the network," he said.

    We’d like to hear your views on mobile virtual phone systems.

  • VoIP Solutions Provider Cypress Communications Expanding into Europe and Middle East

    INTERVIEW: Frank Grillo, Cypress Communication’s executive vice president of marketing, speaks to voip-biz.news about the company and its move into international markets
    voip solutions
    One of the US’s largest providers of VoIP solutions, Cypress Communications, is to announce shortly that it is expanding operations into Europe and the Middle East.

    After more than 20 years providing managed communication solutions to clients across the States, the Atlanta, Georgia-based company is to extend its network internationally.

    Frank Grillo, Cypress Communication’s executive vice president of marketing, told voip-biz.news that more than 80 per cent of its revenue and customers come from a very focused base.

    This comprises law firms and businesses in the financial services, commercial real estate and professional services sectors.

    voip solutions, frank brillo, cypress communications
    Frank Grillo,  EVP Marketing, Cypress Communications

    Grillo said the decision to move into Europe and the Middle East came as a result of a new client – a large US law firm of a similar size to Cypress’ anchor tenant, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

    The full details are expected to be released by the end of March.

    He said a data center is to be established in London, which is to be the initial anchor point in Europe.

    But the expectation is that the expansion will continue.

    "We are extending the Cypress network into other markets," he said.

    "We will initially be marketing to our US customers and serving their needs in Europe and the Middle East."

    Targeting US customers

    Grillo, who was recently, announced as the winner of the voip-biz.news’ Person of the Year award, said focusing Cypress’ initial marketing push on US customers made sense since many existing clients, such as law firms, had offices in Europe.

    The company’s business model is to be modified in the new markets, with more reliance placed on partners.

    In the Middle East, that is likely to be as a network manager rather than as a true end-to-end provider.

    Grillo added: "But from the customers’ perspective, it will be the same."

    As a provider of managed communication solutions, Cypress supplies technology that includes:

    * IP Communications (managed VoIP)
    * unified communication
    * digital and IP phones
    * unlimited calling
    * business-class Internet connectivity
    * firewalls
    * security and VPN solutions
    * audio/Web conferencing solutions

    Grillo described Cypress as a "fairly unique creature", firstly because its experience of hosted PBXs stretches back to the mid-1980s.

    "One of our biggest core strengths is that we get what it’s like to manage desktop phones," he said.

    The second reason was that Cypress’ core customers are high-value employees that depend on a quality phone service for doing business.

    So Grillo said a lawyer charging a client USD $400 per hour expects excellent service when using the phone for an important call.

    "Our clients are people using the phone as their primary tool for doing business," he said.

    Leap of Faith

    Last month, Cypress announced that an existing client, Ascensus, was making the move to IP communications.

    Grillo said this was an example of how customers are willing to put their faith in new systems because of the creditability Cypress has generated in over two decades in the industry.

    In Ascensus’ case, putting its trust in Cypress’ hosted VoIP and hosted unified communications solution, C4 IP, extends to nearly 1,000 associates from six offices — including a 300-person call center.

    C4 IP offers features such as integrated audio and Web conferencing, multimedia collaboration tools,presence, chat and Microsoft Outlook integration.

    "While the technology was new, we were not new," said Grillo. "We were a trusted provided."

    That’s not the case with every provider in the industry, according to Grillo.

    He said the hosted VoIP marketplace has been damaged in the past by providers that he describes as nothing more than "two guys and a truck looking to make some fast money with a bare bones product and the appearance of low cost".

    He said there were only a few providers that offered the reliability and quality required – one he was happy to name was M5 Networks.

    However, Grillo said the current state of the economy meant that those providing poor service were unlikely to fare well.

    "There’s only so much appetite in the market for bad VoIP," he added.

  • INTERVIEW: Ivar Plahte, CEO and Co-Founder of OnRelay

    "Mobile PBX is the future – and the era of everyone having corporate desktop handsets is coming to a close" – Ivar Plahte, winner of smartphone-biz.news’ Person of the Year Award 2008

    Cast your eyes over most office desks and something they have in common is a fixed-line telephone – at least for now.

    Ivar Plahte, CEO and co-founder of OnRelay, has no doubt that mobile PBX is the future – with smartphones increasingly replacing desktop phones to become the sole business phone.

    But then someone who runs a unified communications software company firmly focused on cellular Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) might be expected to say that.

    Founded in early 2000, OnRelay is a pioneer of mobile PBX and launched the first global private mobile branch exchange.

    In January, the company launched Unified MBX, a solution that delivers complete IP PBX functionality to the mobile phone.

    Essentially it turns users’ smartphones into full desk phone replacements, supports PBX functions such as caller ID and calling name and offers business vs personal call separation.

    Ivar Plahte, CEO  and Co-founder OnRelay

    Plahte told smartphone-biz.news that interest had already been huge – with inquiries from 100,000-employee enterprises right down to very small businesses.

    "It’s very cool in the sense that Unified MBX can be deployed in a plug-and-play manner," he said.

    Shift from IP PBX to mobile PBX

    While it may not yet be apparent, Plahte said there were "dramatic changes" currently taking place as enterprises shifted from IP PBXs to mobile PBXs.

    To underline that this isn’t some future-case scenario, he said OnRelay had just finalised an agreement with one of the top five global telecom service providers.

    The company was also deploying its solution in what he described as a "very large enterprise".

    "They said explicitly they do not want a single deskphone – they only want smartphones," he said.

    "This gives a very strong indication that this market we have been pushing for is really emerging."

    Mobile PBX is Fourth Generation

    Plahte said the best way to think of mobile PBX was in generations, with the progression from analog PBX to digital PBX and then on to the IP PBX.

    "Looking at the previous change between digital and IP, the desk phone was very similar – it was still a proprietary type of desk phone," he said.

    "We are talking about two very similar systems, both vertically integrated, coming from the same vendor, hardware-based models.

    "Even if the technology is different, the markets are quite similar."

    That isn’t the case with the move from IP PBX to mobile PBX, according to Plahte.

    The CEO said this was especially apparent in the back office with the change from hardware to software platforms.

    He said that while companies might still want to have fixed phones – such as for call centre switchboards – most users would have mobiles as their desktop phones.

    "A PBX where the backdrop is software, the network is the public mobile network and the predominant device is the mobile phone," he said.

    What has made this type of scenario possible are factors such as the improvements made to smartphone reliability in the last couple of years and the fall in mobile call prices.

    Even so, Plahte said the only way to convince companies to ditch deskphones was to demonstrate the reliability of the solution to them.

    He said businesses already made a sizeable proportion of their calls on mobiles – the novelty was that a mobile PBX meant the handsets could become the only mode of business communication.

    While OnRelay is very aggressively anti-deskphone, Plahte said it was important to assure customers they can "mix-and-match" in whatever way they like.

    "If they only want to use a mobile, then that’s fine," he said.

    "If they are a little sceptical – perhaps because of coverage – then they can have a deskphone that pairs with a mobile and rings at the same time."

    Not making this clear was where a lot of fixed/mobile substitution has been misdirected, according to Plahte.

    "They were telling companies: ‘You have to throw out every everything and only have mobile phones’," he said. "Our proposition is more balanced."

    Competitors Lagging Behind

    While competitors in the form of PBX vendors have been threatening to copy OnRelay since 2003, Plahte said he was confident they had a significant lead over them.

    He said OnRelay also differed from the largely voice-over-WiFi technology being touted by competitors.

    After initially offering large enterprises managed MBX projects, the UK-headquartered company has now launched Unified MBX.

    While OnRelay’s main markets are in Europe and the Far East it is also targeting the US.

    Plahte said the US market was different in terms of:

    – the network: "2/3 years behind Europe in quality of coverage but catching up"

    – smartphone brands: "RIM’s Blackberry and Apple’s iPhone strong, while Nokia is very small in the US

    – contracts: "In Europe a lot of companies pay for their employees’ contracts. That is getting there now in the US."

    – Europe more aggressive in getting rid of deskphone completely: "In the US, the combination of mobile and deskphone will linger for longer."

    OS Diversity is "Disappointing"

    Plahte said the diversity of operating systems on smartphones has been a major headache.

    OnRelay has to port a significant amount of software for every platform and user experience is very important.

    "I hoped operating systems would converge but they are doing the opposite," he said. "For us, that’s disappointing."

    While having to work across four or five platforms has slowed development, Plahte said he never doubted the solution would be launched.
    "I have always had the firm belief that this market is inevitable," he said.

    "It is just a question of time in relation to when this generation of PBX will happen."

    We are interested in hearing your views on mobile PBX – can you see your enterprise becoming mobile-only?

  • INTERVIEW: Ofer Tziperman, President of LocatioNet




































    Ofer Tziperman, president of LocatioNet, spoke in detail to smartphone-biz.news about its free navigation and local search service amAze.
    A pioneer of ad-funded mobile applications, he gave his views on the revenue model’s future prospects – and the benefits of targeting mobile users with location-based adverts.

    When LocatioNet launched its first mobile GPS application four years ago with Orange in Israel it was far from clear if mobile content could be funded by advertising.

    LocatioNet took that gamble and from the popularity of its amAze service, it appears to have paid off.

    The free GPS service, which was last week named as the winner of smartphone-biz.news’ Product of the Year 2008 award, is being compared favorably to expensive competing navigation systems.

    Ofer Tziperman, president of LocatioNet, says he thinks it is an accomplishment just to have cleared the massive hurdle of providing amAze across many mobile platforms, different phones and different manufacturers.

    "Today we are supporting more than 500 different handset models, so in terms of reach that is a major issue we have had to overcome," he says.

    Ad-funded Model Being Watched Closely

    Yet for mobile industry watchers, it is LocatioNet’s apparently-succesful adoption of an ad-funded revenue model that will have wider implications.

    Tziperman is quite aware of this: "AmAze is an interesting combination between the features it offers and the creativity of the business model.

    "It is the first such product available on the market that takes an ad-funded model."

    As the former attorney says – everyone likes something for free – but in the case of applications like amAze, revenue has to be generated somewhere.

    What LocatioNet’s internal team of developers did with amAze was build into the client and backend server a full advertising mechanism.

    This has been successfully trialled in several markets and Tziperman says it will go live in the next few weeks.

    "The idea is that whenever someone opens the application – say in London – then we know that in the backend server," he said.

    "A request is then sent to the relevant ad server and they can send, where it’s available, an advert relevant to London – or to the specific street the person is in.

    "We send this in the background to the user and it pops up only in idle moments. So the service is ad-funded but it’s not irritating in the sense that it will disturb users."

    So during navigation, adverts will not distract people. But when someone is searching for a route, adverts will pop up between the search being sent and the results being displayed.

    Location-sensitive Ads

    Tziperman says that since the ads are location sensitive, they could, say, be offering coupons for a local restaurant. The establisment could then be located on the navigation system and a routing calculation run – all with the click of a button.

    "So on the one hand we are able to provide a very interesting navigation solution to end users, but at the same time what we are aiming to provide is a very interesting tool for advertisers," he says.

    "Our goal was to marry the needs of these two segments."

    Since there is the ability to expose users to adverts very specific to their location, Tziperman says they could command premium rates from advertisers.

    He says ad agencies and advertisers are becoming aware of the advantages GPS-aided advertising offered.

    "This is happening right now. It’s not just a vision. It’s all about relevancy to advertisers.

    "Already some ad servers are focussing on location-based advertising. The premium that they can sell advertising for is significantly higher than ad banners that lead into WAP sites."

    Tziperman says eventually it will be all about the click-through rates. On Internet ads these are below 1%, on websites around 3% and for location-based advertising estimates range from 4% to 10%.

    "I prefer to stick to the low numbers at the moment, but there’s no doubt location-based advertising makes it much more interesting from the users’ point of view," says Tziperman.

    "The idea is to allow users to ignore adverts on the one hand or to interact with them if they wish. But we have to make sure the basic application is very useful and compelling to get the attention of the user.

    "Then we can enrich it with relevant information."

    The latter, in the form of coupons for a nearby shop or restaurant, could actually save users money, according to Tziperman: "Even if you get the application for free, you can still save money."

    Concerns About Mobile Ads

    While you would expect Tziperman to be enthusiastic about amAze, there would appear to be plenty of users who have tried it and found it an appealing service – ads and all.

    Tziperman said that wasn’t everyone’s reaction.

    "Initially when you speak about mobile advertising it causes some fear because people see themselves being bombarded with SMS-type messages," he says.

    "We are not bombarding users but only showing adverts in idle moments."

    "We are taking a different approach. We are not bombarding users but only showing adverts in idle moments.
    "You can ignore them or, if it makes sense, dig further."

    Tziperman describes the path to today’s amAze service as an evolving one. LocatioNet started its mobile business in 2000 by selling LBS infrastructure to mobile operators.

    Four years later this had evolved into a fully fledged GPS service that was launched in Israel with Orange. It was – and still is – a great success.

    So much so that the company wanted to roll it out to other markets, but realised that first it would have to strike agreements with operators in dozens of countries.

    Gamble on Ad-funded Content

    Tziperman said it was decided that was going to be a slow process and LocatioNet took the gamble of offering the navigation app directly to consumers.

    "We realised that if we had to knock on the doors of a few hundred mobile operators around the world and then wait for them to make a decision, it would take forever," he said.

    "So we decided that the best way to approach the worldwide market was via consumers."

    It was decided that to get around the billing issue, they would have to count on advertising.

    But four years ago, while the business model for Internet advertising was well proven – it wasn’t certain whether it be transferred to the mobile phone.

    "The answer wasn’t clear but now we are gaining a lot of momentum," says Tziperman.

    Economic Downturn May Favor Mobile Ads

    While the global downturn is having a serious effect on the advertising industry, LocatioNet’s president believes the situation could actually work in favor of mobile ads.

    "You hear more and more advertisers that want to put their budgets on a more measurable basis – so more online advertising rather than TV, newspapers and billboards," he says.

    "Mobile is one section of online, so we think that over time this crisis might even serve us better than others."

    LocatioNet has plans to launch amAze as a white label solution – as it did recently as the 11 88 0 service in Germany with Telegate.

    Tziperman admits the advertising market is not going to shift overnight so the company is anticipating making money from a "healthy mix" of premium services and ad-funded ones.

    "If you look to the future we believe we may be the first business taking this direction, with an aggressive business model, but we will not be the last," he says.

    "Two to three years down the road a lot of service providers will be providing ad-funded navigation."

    We’d be interested in hearing your views on ad-funded mobile content.













  • INTERVIEW: Carrie Hartford Fedders From IPsmarx Technology








    IPsmarx was named as joint winner of the 2008 voip-biz.news Product of the Year Award last week for its SIP-based calling card platform.

    Carrie Hartford Fedders, account manager with IPsmarx, spoke to voip-biz.news about the solution, which eliminates the need for a VoIP gateway and PSTN lines using DID (Direct Inward Dialing) technology.

    She said that removing the need for a gateway in the network reduced both initial costs and overheads for operators.

    This meant savings could be made on initial investment of between 30-40 per cent compared to a calling card and gateway solution.

    As well as being more feature rich, the new platform also gives operators the flexibility to use fewer channels and upgrade when needed – as opposed to paying for T1/E1 lines.

    "When our sales people are talking to prospective clients, the main challenge is to convince them that they do not need a gateway in the network," she said.

    "People are so used to having it that they don’t believe it’s no longer required.

    "We really do feel that we are on the cusp of this new technology.

    "It’s a very innovative solution, which others are not offering."

    IPsmarx was founded in 2001 and initially offered a calling card platform designed for enterprises that needed a more effective way to manage their billing.

    Hartford Fedders said it grew quickly from there, with the company’s in-house developers continually adding new and more advanced features.

    The development progressed with the addition of a software switch.

    "Now we have all different kinds of solutions that enable businesses to offer VoIP and Calling card systems, the latest being our SIP-based platform," she said.

    While not needing a gateway in the network has streamlined equipment requirements, it has also added flexibility to the platform.

    Hartford Fedders said that in situations where a client’s business was growing, adding new capacity and lines was no longer a time-consuming and costly business.

    "Now you simply have to upgrade the software license with us and order more DIDs," she said.

    "So the long-term benefits are very attractive to our clients."

    Since the IPsmarx platform takes advantage of SIP Based DID technology, operators can provide calling card services to customers worldwide, where DIDs are available, and they only need one platform.

    Hartford Fedders said they had clients in 62 countries around the world, with the main markets being in North America, Latin America and the UK.

    "Every region demands different features and operators have certain fees they like to apply to a service in a particular country," she said.

    IPsmarxs portfolio of VoIP and IP telephony solutions and services includes:

    * Prepaid and Postpaid Calling Card and Residential Solutions
    * Softswitch IP-IP Billing Solution
    * CallShop and Hosted CallShop Solution
    * VoIP Termination Solution
    * Wholesale Carrier Solution
    * Carrier Services
    * VoIP Network Integration, Configuration and Migration Solution


  • TuneWiki Adds Lyrics To Mobile Streaming Radio







    TuneWiki is taking the idea of giving listeners lyrics to go with their mobile music a stage further by extending it to streaming radio.

    The social media player already offers audio and video while displaying synchronized or translated lyrics.

    Smartphone-biz.news spoke to Chad Kouse, VP of R&D and CIO of the US-based developers, at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    He said the streaming internet radio service would allow users to search by genre and select from thousands of global radio stations.

    But more interestingly, he said it would also give listeners the ability to add lyrics to songs – even if they "tuned in" mid-way through a track.

    "This is the first time anyone has put lyrics and album work on streaming radio," he said.

    The free media enhancement application is available for Google Android, but TuneWiki expects to release it for BlackBerry, J2ME, Symbian and Windows Mobile devices by April.

    The advanced player also features translation, music maps and a social network.

    This music-based network allows users to share music information with friends – what they are playing in real time and allows friends to send feedback to the handset.

    TuneWiki displays music maps that show songs playing in the same GPS location and can navigate the map to any other location in the world to see what’s playing there.





    It also creates music charts that shows top songs in GPS location, or of any country or state.

    Kouse said TuneWiki has had over 2 million downloads of its software since launching fully eight months ago.

    It is also possible to download TuneWiki onto jailbroken iPhones and iPod Touches and Kouse said the team are currently working on Palm.

    TuneWiki’s goal is to have lyrics always on, always available, always synchronized to music – on any device that can play music back and connect to the internet.

    He said a community-based effort was the way to put music and lyrics together.

    See below a short video demonstration from MWC.

    TuneWiki has also negotiated a partnership with a major music publishers association that grants it the rights to stream lyrics for almost 2 million songs – ensuring the legal use of many submitted lyrics.

    Those that fall outside the licensing remit are protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which allows unlicensed lyrics to be uploaded, unless the rights-owner asks for a take-down.

  • Mobile Makers Pushing Hard for 1080p Video Content on Handsets


    The global economy may be suffering but that doesn’t mean the drive for technological advancement draws to a complete halt.

    At the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, On2 Technologies’ director of marketing, Tony Hope, told hdtv-biz.news about the push to bring high-def video content to mobile devices.

    He said the demand from handset manufacturers for 1080p content was growing – and by necessity they are looking two or three years ahead.

    "Almost every handset manufacturer wants to support HD video content on their mobile devices," he said.

    "The view is that two to three years down the road, 1080p decoding will be supported on these devices – and not just decoding but encoding for video and pictures as well."

    Based in Clifton Park, NY, On2 has positioned itself at the forefront of video compression technology and during MWC announced a 1080p video encoder for battery operated devices and consumer electronics.

    The new hardware design, the Hantro 8270, supports H.264 Baseline, Main and High Profile video along with 16Mpixel JPEG still images.

    Hope said On2 could easily be described as "one of the more popular companies that people have never heard of".

    The company’s video compression technologies – including its VP6 codec – are on hundreds of millions of mobiles with Nokia among its customers.

    "We’ve been developing our own compression technology for the last 15 years," he said. "And our VP6 is one of the most popular codecs on the planet."

    With the likes of NVIDIA – with it Tegra APX 2600 chipset – and Texas Instruments – with its OMAP 3 platfrom and plans for a chip that handles 1080p – working feverishly on HD technology, the pace for 1080p certainly seems to be quickening.