Showing posts with label Packet8. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Packet8. Show all posts

Monday, February 25, 2008

Before you call Betamax a scam, read the Terms of Service!

In the last weeks I received many messages from people who want to start a lawsuit against the VoIP company Betamax from Cologne, Germany. They feel betrayed by the mothership of Voipstunt, Voipcheap, Sparvoip, Lowratevoip, Nonoh and other offers. Something must have gone wrong with their billing or they believe that Betamax wrongfully charged too much. Aside from the problem that Betamax themselves are apparently victim of a scam, I can only say that for me everything works flawlessly. But I get the impression that many users don't understand the company's Terms of Service. This morning a Betamax user called Robert wrote:
The company I work for happens to be in Moscow so I call them regularly. Why do they suddenly want to charge me for these calls? It doesn't make any difference whether I call the U.S.A., Italy or Russia. They are all free and perhaps I call Moscow three times a day but perhaps twice a week.

I told him to first look at the website http://backsla.sh/betamax. There you can always see the latest prices and you will realize that with most Betamax companies you can call Russia's landline phones for free, within a Fair Use Policy (FUP) of 300 minutes per week. This FUP seems very fair to me. I never exceed it, so Betamax' normally works like a flatrate for me.

In fact I am very surprised about their cheap prices for Russia, because I know that connections outside of St. Petersburg and Moscow are very expensive to buy in wholesale markets. Therefore e. g. Rebtel users have to pay $0.019 Cents to Moscow and St. Petersburg landlines - but $0.079 Cents to other Russian cities. So Betamax' $0.00 Cent is a great bargain. For the German company it makes a big price difference whether they terminate calls in the U.S.A., Italy or in Russia. Although it might be difficult to explain to the average user like Robert.
Now I see that calls, which were originally free, are now being charged under the 'fair use policy'. This I don't understand.

There can be two reasons for that:
1.) Robert calls for more then 300 minutes per week.

2.) He shares his IP number with other users, so that Betamax thinks that it's only one user. That's what happened at Voxalot, a virtual internet PBX: All Voxalot users had the same IP number to Betamax. Therefore they jointly exceeded the FUP very fast. Voxalot managed to strike an agreement with Betamax to pass the original IP number, so that every user now has his own FUP.

So, if Betamax charges for actual free calls, there might be a technical problem. Otherwise it seems a great bargain to me to get 1.200 minutes per month from Betamax for just €2.50. (Taking into account that that you have to pay €10 every four months to get the €0.00 to Russian landlines.) People should also consider what user satphoneguy wrote in Voxalot's forum:
having lived in many parts of the world I think that a lot of what is happening is relate to cultural differences and expectation of customer service. from what i have read the vast majority of complaints are coming from the USA. here in the USA it is somewhat expected that if you are unhappy with a service or feel deceived by misleading marketing that you should be eligible for refund on what you spent. most American companies do indeed give 100% refunds to their customers no questions asked when they complain. i do know from having lived overseas that is not the business etiquette everyplace. there are a number of reasons why many people may feel deceived since the betamax 'fair use policies' are not very clear. in particular concerning additional charges for use of SIP devices on some services. it is all exasperated in that americans also feel that every company should have a customer service line where they can call with questions(or complaints) or at very least email support with a quick turnaround to response(same day)

i do have to say though that it seems many people who complain about numerous betamax companies continue to try the others. this is very similar to what i dealt with working for a very large retail company - some of the biggest complainers and returners of products for refunds were also some of the biggest shoppers; i would see them on nearly a daily basis.

i personally have never had a billing issue with betamax. although in recent months my only funded account is nonoh; since the rates are so much less for the mobile destinations that i call than with any of the SIP options and i have unlimited calls to NA and most landlines through another provider.

Many people in Europe accept a lousy service, as long as it's cheap. But others expect a great service although they pay nearly nothing. That's just not possible to deliver for a company. Good service always has its price, especially in a country with sky-high wages like Germany. People who want more than just plain phone minutes should subscribe to companies like PhoneGnome, Packet8 or Sipgate which have real hotlines by phone and email for their clients. That's what I also told Robert, who finally admitted:
I suppose, like most people, I never fully read the 'Terms of Use', although in these terms there is no exact reason mentioned and more than that, there is no exact time limit per country or city mentioned where this might be relatively easy as an adder to the price information.

Please always have a look at the small print at the end of every Betamax web page!
* Max 300 minutes per week of free calls, measured over the last 7 days and per unique IP address. Unused free minutes cannot be taken to the following week(s). If limit is exceeded the normal rates apply. With your FREE DAYS you can call for free to all the destinations listed as free! When you have no FREE DAYS left the normal rates apply. You can get extra Freedays by buying credit

They say it very clear that free calls are limited to 300 minutes per week and IP address. That's not too difficult to understand, isn't it? What still remains a mistery to me, is the sentence „When you have no FREE DAYS left the normal rates apply“.

What are these normal rates after 300 minutes? I couldn't find them either.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Ringfree brings VoIP callthrough with every provider to the iPhone

In the last weeks I was displeased with the state of VoIP on mobile handsets. Wifi coverage is spotty and callback services like Jajah require two phone calls at the same time, which makes them too expensive for penny pinchers like me. That's why I am a fan of callthrough applications which involve only one call leg. The call goes to a local number where a server converts it into a VoIP call. But unfortunately this needs numerous key strokes in addition to the destination number and makes callthrough a cumbersome activity.

Software like MobileTalk from Packet8 would help, but it is bound to just one VoIP provider and could be done much better. Unfortunately the underlying software from Mobilemax gets distributed only to companies and not to end users. So people have to wait until their VoIP provider of choice implements it.

But salvation is near, at least for iPhone users: RingFree let's you use every VoIP provider or even your own Asterisk / SIP server for outbound calls on Apple's "Invention of the year 2007" (according to Time Magazine). iPhone Atlas has the story:
Here, in a nutshell, is how the app works: A user registers with RingFree, entering his iPhone number and providing some other information. The user is then prompted to call a country-local number to confirm their information by entering a PIN. Once logged into the site, the user selects from a list of pre-defined VoIP providers (including VoicePulse, Gizmo Project, PhoneGnome and others) or defines his own by entering a proxy address, username and password.

After selecting or defining a provider, the user can access the Web app’s keypad, which looks something like the iPhone’s standard dialer, selects the preferred VoIP provider from a menu, and hits “Call.” The call sends a bit of JavaScript over EDGE to retrieve a local number from the VoIP provider, which the user is prompted to dial with the iPhone’s native phone application. When this number is dialed, the VoIP provider is triggered to dial the number entered in the Web app, and the call goes through.

RingFree is basically a website with a virtual dialer. It is linked to VoIP providers of choice and uses standard voice minutes to make VoIP calls. Therefore it doesn’t require any hacking or jailbreaking, nor does it require the presence of a WiFi network. Only a small amount of data is transferred over the EDGE network to signalize the call. The voice quality is reportedly good, and calls go through without too much delay so that a commentator at IntoMobile states:
Thank you for this. This is the most useful iPhone application yet. I set it up in less than 2 minutes and I made a call to Ireland using Gizmo Project. Sweet and simple. I am happy and would be jumping up and down with joy if it let me call Skypers.

That's exactly what I was looking for. RingFree is free in the first month, then it costs $30/year. You can also call Google Talk, Yahoo or MSN contacts from the iPhone. I wonder when someone will launch a similar service for other platforms, such as Symbian. It could be a great new feature for Voxalot, whose mobile callback I often use with my own VoIP providers. It costs €0.01 of data or less to establish the call, but still it demands two simultaneous phone calls.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Packet8 announces free trial program for MobileTalk

Maybe Packet8 heard me nagging about the high price for their Mobiletalk callthrough software, which includes no VoIP minutes. Just hours after my blog post told how great their Mobiletalk software could be if it wasn't mutilated and overpriced, Packet8 announces the launch of a no obligation, no fee trial program.
With the MobileTalk free trial program, wireless customers can download the MobileTalk application onto their mobile device and use the service at no charge until a total of $2.00 in per minute fee is reached.

The Mobiletalk software is great and now people can get to know it before they subscribe. But the one-time $9.99 activation fee for the service and a monthly fee of $9.99 for non-Packet 8 subscribers seems too much to me. Packet8 should slash the monthly fee and sell the software for $30.

After all they make their money with VoIP minutes.

Israeli mobile VoIP software miracle automatically connects the cheapest way

Last year I was nagging that "Packet8 MobileTalk could be done much better", and I was right. I could learn that now when the Israeli company Mobilemax installed for me on a cellphone the underlying software which powers Packet8's MobileTalk. It is a real mobile VoIP wonder weapon which I covered in an article for Areamobile. Companies like Truphone, Gizmo5, Wifimobile and Tpad should make its features a part of their mobile services to make them work also outside of the spare Wifi areas.

Internet telephony could be a killer application for mobile phones. But it has it quirks, shows a series of articles I wrote. In most cases you need at least a cell phone which can open mobile websites. It let's you do a mobile callback with VoIP providers like Jajah or Voxalot. After entering the phone numbers of the caller and the callee on a mobile website, a server rings up both and connects them over the internet. Of course this also costs double, but for international calls it's still cheaper than the own cell phone provider's prices. Only Wifi cell phone calls are less expensive. They only cost a few cents per minutes and often they are free. But Wifi isn't always available.

Mobilemax thus developed a software which automatically sends mobile phone calls the less expensive way over the internet whenever that's cheaper than normal calls. No need to open mobile websites on the phone or to trigger callbacks by SMS or instant messaging. The software simply sits unobtrusively in the background and automatically determines the way in which the call is connected. The user only needs to enter the number.


Establishing a call with VoIP software from Mobilemax

The program works on about 500 phones with Palm, BlackBerry, Symbian or Windows Mobile operating systems and last month it has been deployed for the first time by the US VoIP provider Packet8. Once a number has a foreign area code, the software starts to act and connects via a landline number to the server by Packet8. The server connects the telephone conversation with the other party over the VoIP network. Calls from the United States to Asia or Europe cost only a 2 to 5 US cents per minute more than the price of a local call. The American mobile operators normally charge up to three dollar minute. German companies like Running Mobile or Cellity offer similar solutions.

But the Israeli software has much more functions which the competitors lack and also Packet8 doesn't use. The program could also automatically decide to connect a phone call as a callback or over Wifi. Even VoIP calls over 3G will soon be possible, although all German mobile network operators seem to block them now I realized in some self-experiments. Mobilemax' software is a real miracle weapon for mobile VoIP and the handling is particularly pleasant, because no extra buttons have to be pressed. The software even senses in which country the user is and automatically chooses a local number for callthrough or callback. What a pity that consumers cannot have it. Mobilemax distributes the software only to companies. "We don't see ourselves providing the underlying service of the application and compete with our customers", said Mobilemax' Director of Business Development, Perry Nalevka, to me in an interview. The Packet8 customers pay $10 per month only to use it. In addition they get the VoIP telephone minutes billed.


Configuration also allows other VoIP flavours

Other companies want to follow the same business model, Nalevka said, which started as a one-touch-dialing solution for calling card users and roamers who had to use tens of access numbers, PINs and dial flows to make a call without being ripped off by the mobile operators. Six different service providers worldwide and several IPBX and enterprise mobility providers are now testing the software. So far several tens of thousands of licenses purchased.


Other companies who use it:


Today it supports the following configurations:
  • Callthrough with PIN or PINless (CLI based).
  • Roaming location based callthrough with multiple access numbers automatically selects the relevant access number according to the user's location.
  • Seamless callback triggered by: DID, USSD, SMS, IP. The application triggers the callback, answers the incoming call and if needed sends the destination number.
  • Dial around replacing prefixes in the dialed number (1010).


Further developments:
  • Support additional phone models as they are released.
  • Add new routes to seamlessly divert calls to: VoWIFI, Vo3G (to SIP or termination).
  • Adding in-call Mobility features.

You can find more information about the software in Rich Tehrani's interview with Perry Nalevka: "MobileMax: Bullish on Fixed Mobile Convergence" (December 31, 2007).

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Wifimobile again outsmarted by Truphone's free offer

Wifimobile quits their flatrate model and goes prepay like Truphone. The move is said to be inspired by a blog post from iotum's Alec Saunders from Canada who managed to spend just $4.16 on mobile calls and roaming at the IP industry event Fall 2007 VON in Boston. Calls were handled by either TruPhone (if in a Wifi zone) or Mobivox (if not).

Wifimobile users can now set up accounts to make very cheap calls over Wi-Fi as per Truphone, and GSM Call through access as per Mobivox. The rates are competitive, such as under $0.10 per minute to India. You can find them here. The move was necessary because Wifimobile's previous flatrate model could not offer calls to many countries like India and the Middle East as it looked like this:
Only £15.99 €11.99 £7.99 Per Month

The oneFone service from WiFiMobile allows you to make unlimited* free calls to landlines in over 40 countries as well as mobile phones in certain countries including the USA. For a list of countries that you can call for free click here.

All calls to landline and mobile numbers to countries not listed here are automatically routed through your normal GSM provider. This allows us to guarantee that customers are never charged more than the set monthly line rental.

*The unlimited free calls are subject to a fair usage policy.

In the last months Wifimobile had to walk in the shadow of Truphone, because they offered calls to the same countries for free in a limited offer that always got extended. Calls to destinations outside these 40 countries could at least be completed as paid calls with Truphone, while Wifimobile just couldn't offer them.

As Truphone's free calls should have finished at the end of the year, Wifimobile hoped to compete on the same level with them and beat them with more VoIP features. An added enhancement is that people can register not only their cell phone but also the home or office landline for the use with Wifimobile's callthrough numbers. That brings more calls onto Wifimobile's VoIP network and makes their service usable outside of Wifi areas.

Truphone lacks such a nice callthrough feature and I am missing it, as I told in my blog post "Packet8 MobileTalk could be done much better". Wifimobile also offers real time call records, which can be viewed in a secure customer portal, and they are also currently working on an inbound solution.

But will this be enough to step out of Truphone's shadow?

It must have been a strong blow that Truphone has just announced the extension of their free calling to landlines (and some cellphones) in 40 countries until the end of February 2008, only one week after Wifimobile changed their business model. Free phone calls are still the strongest argument for the VoIP customer. Read both companies' press releases! I am quite convinced that Truphone will never charge for these calls. We can already prepare for the next extensions in March, July and December. That's how it worked in 2007.




WiFiMobile goes global with prepay VoIP and dial through service

Los Angeles California December 13th 2007 - Leading mobile VoIP provider WiFiMobile today announced that their VoIP service has changed to prepay with very competitive costs.

The company had previously charged a monthly subscription which allowed free calls to landlines in certain countries, however calls to all other worldwide destinations were barred. The introduction of a top up system now presents a global platform.

WiFiMobile’s new tariff rate has been completely revised and users can now take advantage of calls such as to India at under 10 US cents per minute. Calls to other online WiFiMobile customers are free regardless of location.

Their unique local access numbers remain in place where cheap calls can be made when no Wi-Fi access point is in range. These numbers are available in twelve countries at present with more to follow shortly. Customers can also register other numbers such as their home landline to utilise these access numbers. This combines Internet and dial through calling into just one account.

The service is available at the company’s website where their VoIP client oneFone can be downloaded instantly to any compatible Nokia E or N Series smartphone. A free $1 credit is applied to all new accounts to test the technology. Customers are also able to securely access the log in portal to view account balance, top up history and real time CDRs.

The company’s VoIP client oneFone fully supports Presence enabling users to see who is online at any time with other business features such as Call Conferencing, Call Transfer and VCC (Voice Call Continuity) coming soon.

WiFiMobile CEO says "This stretches out our potential market to places that we couldn’t touch previously. Countries such as India have over 200 million mobile users and have a huge overseas based population. Our rates are very competitive and we have the most robust VoIP client".

For further information please visit www.wifimobile.com or email pr@wifimobile.com.

WiFiMobile

Head Office:
3250 Wilshire Boulevard
9th Floor
Los Angeles
California
CA 90010

Tel: +1 310 459 3000 Ext 2

Email: pr@wifimobile.com

ABOUT WIFIMOBILE

WiFiMobile were founded in 2002 and have offices in the US and UK. In 2004 the company achieved status of a Forum Nokia S60 3rd Edition Featured Developer, one of only 23 recognized worldwide.

VoIP client oneFone is a self developed and wholly owned application and provides cheap or free long distance calls as well as converting select Nokia devices into extensions of corporate IP IBX systems. The company is poised to achieve phenomenal growth in the next year in this rapidly evolving market.




Thursday, December 20, 2007
Truphone freezes call charges until the end of February 2008

Truphone today announced that all Truphone call charges have been frozen at their current rates until February 29th 2008. For the next two months, Truphone calls will be free to landlines in 40 countries, and to mobiles in the USA, Canada and elsewhere. Using Truphone to call EU mobiles costs just 15 pence per minute or less.

Truphone call charges summary
  • Free calls to landlines in 40 countries
  • Free calls to cellphones USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong and Singapore
  • Pay 15 pence or less to EU mobiles - and no connection charge
  • Free mobile calls to other online Truphone customers
  • No roaming fees: Truphone calls costs the same wherever you are
  • No download cost, no monthly charge and no inbound fees
  • These rates are guaranteed until February 29th 2008. Rates quoted are exclusive of VAT
  • Anyone with a suitable handset can get Truphone by sending an SMS with the word 'Tru' to +44 7624 000000

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Packet8 MobileTalk could be done much better

When Packet8 presented last week their service MobileTalk I was fascinated, but just for some seconds. Then I thought: What a lost opportunity! It could have been such a great application, if it 1.) hadn't such an expensive basic fee, 2.) wasn't bound to one particular VoIP provider and 3.) didn't work only in the US.

The press release explains very well how it works:
Packet8 MobileTalk utilizes a downloadable software application that can currently reside on any Windows, Palm or Symbian based mobile phone to seamlessly connect international calls from the mobile phone to the Packet8 digital VoIP network. Routing these calls over the Packet8 network enables cell phone users to significantly reduce their international phone bills and maintain high international voice quality while still enjoying the convenience and flexibility of mobile calling. [...]

With Packet8 MobileTalk, subscribers won't think twice about calling Europe or Asia because instead of $1.00 to $3.00 per minute, they will be paying as little as $.02 to $.05 per minute over the Packet8 network to most destinations. With more than 340 mobile phones from any cell phone carrier currently supported, the Packet8 MobileTalk service is a vital tool for mobile business professionals and consumers. [...]

Unlike calling card, callback and other reduced-rate international mobile calling services, which require the user to dial numerous key strokes in addition to their destination number or make their calls through cumbersome software applications, Packet8 MobileTalk users can dial calls directly and natively from their mobile handset, contact list or speed dial directory with no additional keystrokes - a significant advantage when, for example, placing a call while driving. Once the destination number is dialed or selected, the Packet8 MobileTalk software application identifies the international prefix being called and redirects the call to a local Packet8 network access number. With Packet8 MobileTalk, all calls are carried to the Packet8 network over the subscriber's existing cellular voice phone service and do not require access to an expensive monthly data plan or WiFi access point. [...]

There is a one-time $9.99 activation fee for the service and a monthly fee of $9.99 for non-Packet 8 subscribers. Existing Packet8 VoIP subscribers, including subscribers with one Packet8 MobileTalk account, pay a monthly service fee of $4.99. Packet8 MobileTalk overseas calls are billed at Packet8's low international rates which can be found at http://www.packet8.net/international_services/.
That's a quite expensive monthly rent for a small piece of software. Given that there are no calls included in the recurring fee of $9.99. On top you always have to pay the per minute price for the calls, which is e. g. $0.03 to a German landline. The several Betamax companies charge only half the price, $0.015, for the same service. Or the call is free, included for instance in Voipstunt's flatrate price of € 10.00 for 120 days (roughly equivalent to $ 13.40).

I guess that people who acquire Packet8 MobileTalk suffer very strong from dialing "numerous key strokes in addition to their destination number or make their calls through cumbersome software applications". If not, $9.99 is a rip off. Taking into account that other callthrough applications like Runningmobile's cost just €19.95 (about $30). But only one time, when you buy it.

Nevertheless the functionality of Packet8 Mobile Talk is quite smart and better than other "cumbersome software applications". Perry Nalevka is Director of Business Development at the Israeli company MobileMax, which developed the software for Packet8. He explains in a comment to Pat Phelan's regarding blog entry:
1) The application sits on in the background of the phone and allows the user to use their phone normally and dial from their address book or call log

2) Supports BlackBerry, Windows, Palm and Symbian phones currently. The Java will be ready next year.

3) Calls are “caught” and routed by pre-configured parameters. In the case of Packet8 any call that begins with “011″ or calls that begin with “+” that are not in the US.
Hopefully Nalevka doesn't break an NDA by telling that his company is behind Packet8's software. He mentions it also in Tom Keating's blog. So MobileTalk from Packet8 works similar to the Wifimobile application, which sits in the background of your cell phone and only kicks in when you dial an international number. Only that Wifimobile tries to establish the call over Wifi while Packet8 establishes the call over callthrough. The callthrough numbers are stored in the software, like it is at iSkoot.

Let's wait and see now when Wifimobile comes up with the same callthrough feature. They have already recognized that Wifi isn't everywhere and offer callthrough numbers in 12 countries. Much better than MobileTalk which works only in the US. Also at Wifimobile you pay only $15.99 per month and get unlimited calls to landlines in 40 countries. This feels much cheaper than Packet8's offer. The only point is that Wifimobile's application works only on Nokia smartphones and the nifty callthrough is not yet part of the software. Users still have to dial "numerous key strokes in addition to their destination number".

Which brings me to the point: Companies like Truphone, Gizmo Project, Wifimobile and the like should make callthrough numbers a part of their mobile applications to make them usable outside of Wifi.

Or couldn't Jajah strike an agreement with MobileMax and let them make a software which handles the Jajah Direct numbers? Last week they celebrated themselves for eliminating the need for computer to make Internet calls, only to present a system that's not less complicated: Now people have to dial numbers which are 24 digits long.

A similar case is Truphone: Their software does pretty much everything. It automatically updates the call forward when you insert a foreign SIM card in your cell phone while travelling. Couldn't it also hold some callthrough numbers? If the company doesn't want to set up their own numbers they could surely make an agreement with Sipbroker or Tpad. These VoIP companies have callthrough numbers in nearly every country of the world. The Truphone software could automatically "sense" which country's callthrough number to use, since it already uses a similar functionality to forward calls from Truphone number to local SIM card. If that's not so easy the Truphone software should have a button to choose the country.

Or maybe Tpad and Sipbroker should design their own callthrough softwares, a proposal I directly made in their forums. Tpad's answer from the forum admin:
I will definitely mention your idea to management, but early next year we are starting work on a Tpad Global Freephone Number (cant mention too much detail at the moment, but from what we have come up with so far it is looking pretty good).

We are aware of the German Running Mobile, but we will have to check the other sites out.

Thanks for your ideas, we respect what our forum members want and we will try our best to develope them.
A "Tpad Global Freephone Number"? Now that's even more tricky. It would address the downside of the Sipbroker which is explained in a comment to Pat Phelan's blog entry:
What would make more sense for a large player is to negotiate preferable rates for access through 00800 (international toll free) straight to their own VOIP switch. Going through sipbroker access numbers that are operated by dozens of different VOIP carriers would not lead to consistant QoS.
OK, so QoS fans should use their own numbers, although many people use the Sipbroker numbers without problems. In the forum of Sipbroker's mothership Voxalot we developed some interesting ideas.

Maybe Voxalot could design my "callthrough dream application"?

It holds all Sipbroker numbers, kicks in only when make an international call and let's me use my own VoIP providers - like a already do on Voxalot's all purpose VoIP PBX. People would always only pay a local call and the international part goes over the respective VoIP provider. The mobile application should always “sense” in which country the cell phone is situated and choose the local Sipbroker number to establish the call.

I am craving for a really comprehensive application: sitting in the background like Packet8 and always kicking in when I need it, automatically making use of the callthrough number of the country where I am. Be it Jajah's, Tpad's, Sipbroker's, Net2max' or whatever callthrough number. I am a client of all these companies anyway.

It should be a "callthrough consolidator", like Devicescape is a Wifi consolidator for mobile phones. Devicescape let's me consolidate all the Wifi hotspots for my mobile phone into just one virtual hotspot. The callthrough software should do the same with all these numbers. I would even make myself the work to copy all callthrough numbers into my account on a website. The way that I can copy all login data of different Wifi hotspots into my account on the Devicescape website. Devicescape knows them all. No hassle with Wifi configuration on my tiny phone keyboard.

Who can build a Devicescape for callthrough?

Maybe a guy from Poland, called Marek. But until now he has only sent me ideas that go in this direction. No downloadable application.