TalkFree has announced performance results for the first quarter of 2010. The company’s total number of calls more than doubled from 15.8 million to 33.4 million from the year-ago period and total revenue increased 37 percent, with explosive growth coming from its mobile VoIP solutions.
During the first quarter of 2010, TalkFree made several network and product enhancements, enabling the company to more effectively capture mobile VoIP opportunities in the Middle East and Africa, its core markets. Specifically, TalkFree integrated SMS functionality into its mobile platform, giving customers the ability to send international SMS messages at a fraction of the rate charged by traditional wireless carriers. In addition, TalkFree engineered its mobile VoIP products to be compatible with nearly the entire Nokia S60 phone series, which is very popular in Middle Eastern and African nations.
Most notably, many citizens and migrant workers in emerging countries do not have the means to pay for phone service. In fact, few of them have credit cards or PayPal accounts, which most alternative service providers require, and getting cash “out-of-country” is always a challenge. However, TalkFree’s unique preferred reseller program and seamless payment method solve that problem by enabling resellers and call shop owners to function as a “telecom bank” so their retail customers can buy service easily and affordably.
These initiatives reflect the company’s ongoing strategic focus on mobile VoIP solutions and markets that are projected to generate $30 billion by 2015, according to Frost & Sullivan, a technology research and consulting firm. Juniper Research, another research house, recently reported that the number of mobile VoIP users will exceed 100 million by 2012. According to a new study from Juniper, much of that growth will come from developing markets due to the calling patterns of migrant workers – a significant customer base for TalkFree’s resellers.
TalkFree is well-positioned to service the demand. “Mobile VoIP is fast becoming a mainstream product in the mobile telecommunications market – even in emerging countries,” says Gary Kim, an independent telecom analyst and commentator. “With its strong distribution channel and seamless payment method, TalkFree is one of the better-positioned mobile VoIP players in Middle Eastern and African markets.”
Indeed, TalkFree’s 1LegCall wireless VoIP application and Zonefone mobile VoIP dialer – both relatively new products – have produced tens of millions of minutes of call traffic during the first quarter of 2010. “In the first quarter mobile VoIP accounted for 35 percent of our revenue,” says Dave Rawlings, chief executive officer of TalkFree. “That’s 11 percent growth from the prior quarter and our second quarter should exceed that growth considerably.”