Deterred by prohibitive rates, pay-as-you-go mobile phone users largely avoid making international calls. But Foocall, a least cost routing (LCR) service from UK-based company Ghost Telecom could mean users will now think nothing of making an overseas call from their handset.
Foocall was launched in Malta 10 days ago.
The web-based service with a deliberately odd name has been designed to provide an inexpensive way for mainstream consumers, and even businesses, to make international calls on a mobile phone from home or abroad.
"Users just need to go to www.foocall.com, and sign up for free membership," Ghost Telecom founder and chief executive officer Michael Camilleri told The Sunday Times. "We don't ask 50,000 questions. With this technology, people do not have to buy a different phone, sign up for anything, download software, or change operator."
Having obtained a user name and password, users access the internet browser on their phone and go to Foocall.mobi to log in just the once. Users then key in the international number they would like to call. An automatic call to a local number is triggered, and servers will then divert the call to the international number.
International calls can be made from any web-enabled mobile phone. Users in participating countries can call Malta for as little as €0.025 per minute. Foocall is currently running a trial period for new subscribers offering 15 minutes of free calls.
UK-born Mr Camilleri explained that the international call is not made over the internet - rather the internet is only used to authenticate information. Once the call begins, the browsing session is automatically terminated and users are charged for a local landline call by their mobile operator. For most consumers, that call could fall within their monthly bundle and be charged at an even lower rate.
Using Foocall is even cheaper in Wifi hotspots as users will not even be charged for the initial data connection before making the call, so the service is even more attractive to travellers, Mr Camilleri added.
"We are giving people the opportunity to call anyone anywhere using their mobile," Mr Camilleri said. "Part of the call is carried on Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The cleverness of it is that, because the call is carried on the GSM network, not 3G or data, the call quality is 100 per cent the same. Foocall's system is totally technology-, network- and handset-impartial, and infrastructure independent."
Within seconds of ending their call, Foocall subscribers may access the website and view the duration and cost of the call. Subscribers may also enter their frequently called numbers through their handset or computer for ease of use. Online tutorial videos and an e-mail helpdesk address any user queries or difficulties.
After an initial investment of $5 million, Foocall was recently launched in the UK. Ghost Telecom is to progressively launch the service throughout Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and Asia. In the UK alone, Mr Camilleri believes the international traffic would be particularly high with potential Foocall customers running into millions. Early key performance indicators are already showing higher numbers than normally expected from an internet-type business, Mr Camilleri said.
Foocall is the brainchild of a trio of mobile phone veterans: Mr Camilleri who is based in Malta "80 per cent of the time", Jose Merino, and Graeme Hutchinson. All three have been involved in designing, manufacturing and selling mobile phones since the device's inception. Ten years ago, Mr Camilleri designed a 68g GSM phone - he claims that a smaller, lighter phone has never been made since.
Mr Hutchinson, Ghost Telecom's chief operating officer, was a member of the team which launched and built Virgin Mobile UK, the world's first - and arguably the most successful - mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) ever. One of Virgin Group's most significant brands, it was floated on the London Stock Exchange.
Mr Camilleri said scale, running into single- and later double-digit million users, will make Foocall successful. The 11-member team which comprises engineers and marketing professionals, is in total control of the margins. Foocall guarantees that every call could not be routed cheaper without compromising quality, and most of the savings are passed on to the consumer.
"Big operators like British Telecom, France Telecom and others are world class experts at least cost routing - every cent they save in routing a call is extra margin for them. In our case, we take what we need to survive and we pass the rest on to the consumer," Mr Camilleri said.
Foocall also presents mobile operators with an opportunity and Ghost Telecom is talking to operators around the world with "significant interest shown". Although it might look like Foocall steals international traffic from an operator, Mr Camilleri pointed out that it does not because most people do not make international calls from their mobile in the first place.
Under a business-to-business model, mobile operators may also seek the 'white label' route: Ghost Telecom will carry the traffic for the operator but the service would be skinned with the operator's brand. Mr Camilleri explained that the Foocall technology has been designed to be adapted swiftly and without having any implication in mobile operators' networks.
Mr Camilleri admitted Foocall has competition internationally, but none with Ghost Telecom's pedigree.
"Other LCR services are run mostly by internet people, not by mobile phone veterans," he remarked. "Foocall is purely one-touch: log on, make the call and hang up. We are confident in the simplicity, the transparency, and the quality of this technology."