WCell International launches dirt-cheap Internet voice calling service
WCell International said today it has launched an inexpensive Internet calling service across a wide variety of mobile platforms.
The WCell application uses voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) to deliver cheap but good quality voice calls. Supported platforms include Java, Blackberry, WinC, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Symbian. An iPhone version has been submitted and is pending approval from Apple. Brew and Android versions are also in the works.
The Hong Kong-based company is targeting both low and high end users, with purported equal or better phone quality than seasoned VoIP providers such as Skype.
The market is crowded with competitors, including Skype, mig33, Fring, Nimbuzz, Truphone, and Gizmo 5. But the company is counting on its wide reach, lower prices and better service to stand out. In particular, it’s targeting customers who buy phones at retail stores, where the phone is not attached to any particular calling service.
Ish Paneet Singh, vice president at WCell, says WCell’s pay as you go rates (as low as a penny per minute, depending on country) are at least 60 percent cheaper than Skype’s. VoIP calls are growing rapidly throughout the world because Internet-based calls are anywhere from 10 to 100 times cheapter than voice network calls.
WCell plans to give customers added minutes for enlisting their friends. It will also sell cards at retailers that customers can redeem to make calls on the service. The company’s goal is to hit 10 million paying users by Nov. 2009.
WCell International was founded in 2008 and has 65 employees. The company is self-funded, with $1.2 million raised from its founders.
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About the Author, Dean Takahashi
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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