With the annual Mobile World Congress event just around the corner, attendees are set to invade Barcelona, taxing both the cities physical infrastructure and cellular networks. The physical stress will be of paramount concern as this year’s event will be held at a new venue, while the cellular stress has typically been handled by carriers throwing up mobile cell sites to handle the deluge.
However, with international roaming still a significant financial hurdle for some and pricing models for such activities seemingly still set in the Stone Age, that stress on cellular networks has traditionally been muted. Attendees coming from outside of Spain have traditionally either tracked down a local SIM card and new phone number or swallowed hard and paid a hefty roaming fee. Those fees seem especially onerous when it comes to data services, forcing many to shut down the data capabilities of their super-duper mobile devices or scrambling for an un-congested Wi-Fi network.
Looking to ease that burden, Truphone has rolled out a pair of solutions targeting international roamers. Its original platform is a VoIP application that allows customers to remain connected using one number over a Wi-Fi connection, while its SIM-card based offering provides similar connection capabilities when roaming onto cellular networks.
The company noted that its surveys found 60% of people that roam choose not to use their mobile devices due to cost issues, while the remaining 40% significantly curtail their usage. Truphone CEO Steve Robertson provided insights into the company’s offerings and where it is seeing growth.
RCR Wireless News: Can you describe the benefits and differences between the various Truphone offerings?
Steve Robertson: Truphone has one clear benefit– we enable people to stay connected wherever they are. Now, it really depends on what sort of user you are as to which service suits you best.
To some business people, for example, the main benefit is the way we erase international barriers to using your phone – so when you go to a Truphone country you can use data at local rates and call back and forth without worrying about charges.
Some business people have more specific needs, however. If you are in the financial sector in the United Kingdom or United States and are covered by mobile recording regulations, for example, then the biggest benefit is that our recording services don’t interfere with your normal calling habits.
Other users though just appreciate that Truphone can help save them up to 90% on international calls. Currently about 60% of people disable data on their phone while travelling internationally – and about 90% change their calling behavior dramatically, but with Truphone they don’t have to. Our mobile network is dedicated to letting our users stay connected no matter where they go or what they do. It’s the only benefit that matters.
RCRWN: What regions or markets is Truphone seeing the greatest growth?
Robertson: Truphone is at a fairly early stage in its development, and is headquartered in the United Kingdom, so it’s probably no surprise that that’s where we’re biggest at the moment. Beyond that though, we are seeing strong market demand for our services in the United States and Australia.
After a period of investment and development in the strength and stability of our network, this is the year we plan to drive growth with more marketing activity. We’ll also be launching in several new countries this year, including Hong Kong and The Netherlands. We’re extremely confident about how we’ll perform in each of those markets.
RCRWN: Truphone targets both the consumer and enterprise space. Which segment is showing the most growth?
Robertson: Our main focus throughout our rebuilding phase has been on the corporate market, which has meant we’ve been supporting customers with a high touch service. We have won some marquee corporate accounts as a result, including tier one investment banks, and members of the Fortune 500 and FTSE 100.
Independent researchers have confirmed to us that 70% of Fortune 1000 companies are battling high roaming rates among their employees and more than half have an official mandate to save money there. That’s been an incredible opportunity for us and we’ve taken full advantage of it.
That said, we do in fact have more consumer customers of our SIM product than we do in the corporate marketplace, and naturally, many more users of our app.
Ultimately, Truphone isn’t just expanding in one direction – it’s growing across the board. The recent investments have been designed to ensure our infrastructure is capable of handling that growth while still delivering the quality our users expect.
RCRWN:What differences does Truphone see between customers choosing its SIM card option compared with its smartphone application?
Robertson: The expectations of customers have never been higher – and it does not matter whether you are talking about the largest corporate customer, or an individual using a free application. We all expect everything to just work perfectly.
Our users can be broadly divided into three groups. There is our core customer base – those who use Truphone as their primary phone service; there are those that only use the Truphone app to call over Wi-Fi; and finally there are consumers and occasional users who use a Truphone SIM for short periods. One of the great things about Truphone’s international mobile network is that we provide for each of those audiences at once.
That’s what sets Truphone apart – we aren’t about sorting users into discrete groups; we want everyone to stay connected. Each type of customer obviously has different needs and the primary users are obviously getting the most out of Truphone as they use buy and use additional numbers, for example – but we are a service that can meet your needs, if you have an international dimension to your life.
RCRWN:What sort of impact has the “app world” had on the international roaming space?
Robertson: Truphone was the first ever company to make an Internet calling application for a mobile phone, so we’ve always been aware of how important apps are as a platform. Apps such as Truphone’s enable users to make free international phone calls over Wi-Fi; to remain available even when there’s no traditional mobile coverage. That’s revolutionary.
When it comes to their impact on international roaming though, apps have both changed everything and nothing at all. If you are not in a W-Fi zone, you need a cellular network, and when you go abroad, roaming charges still apply. The more you rely on data, and the app-world, the more important your connectivity becomes. This market remains as important as ever – if not more so.
RCRWN:What sort of impact has the move to an all-IP cellular environment through LTE and WiMAX has had on your operations?
Robertson: Honestly, it hasn’t had any impact on our operations at all. Most companies either operate solely in the LTE space or solely in an over-the-top environment and so find themselves developing solutions for both environments. Truphone is different because we care about both. That means we move in both directions and aren’t bound by the sort of limitations that affect our competitors – we get the best of both worlds and can pass the advantages on to our users.
RCRWN:Have you been surprised that traditional cellular operators have not been more aggressive in trying to drive over-the-top players out of this market?
Robertson: That’s an interesting question – the Internet has completely revolutionized not just the way we communicate individually, but also consumers’ ability to effectively broadcast their opinion. Brands must carefully nurture their customers to turn them into powerful advocates. I’m not sure that an operator which attempted to drive its customers off the Internet would generate the kind of attention it would want.
RCRWN:I know Truphone recently secured new funding. How does the company view the current VC environment when it comes to the mobile space?
Robertson: This is a great time for innovation in our sector, and those companies with strong business models and the ability to deliver can generate good returns for VCs. So, while the general trend might see a little less investor money moving around – there are still lots of opportunities.
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