Both Barrels Communications Ltd

Also adds inbound and free iPhone-to-iPhone Truphone calls

Global mobile network operator Truphone today added Truphone Anywhere functionality to its iPhone™ application, enabling users to make international calls across the internet for as little as £0.03/$0.06 [UK/Rest of World] per minute even when they’re not connected to the internet. Inbound Truphone calling on the iPhone is also added for the first time, making it possible to enjoy completely free Truphone calls between two iPhones.

Truphone Anywhere works in 33 countries around the world, saving iPhone users from those countries money on international calls made from their home country when not in Wi-Fi. The easy-to-use service works alongside domestic service providers, but reduces international call costs to as little as £0.03/$0.06 [UK/RoW] per minute.

Unlike say, calling card solutions, Truphone Anywhere doesn’t require a user to remember what to do. Whenever an international number is dialled from outside Wi-Fi, Truphone Anywhere simply asks whether he/she wants to make a Truphone call. The user simply accepts, and Truphone connects the call.

The second new key feature – inbound calling for Truphone on the iPhone – works in all countries. Using the new ‘presence’ feature, iPhone users can see which of their other Truphone-using contacts are online, including contacts who also have Truphone on their iPhone. This makes it possible to place, for the first time, a free iPhone-to-iPhone Truphone call.

The new inbound call capability means that iPhone users can avoid inbound call charges – for example, when abroad – provided they are connected to a Wi-Fi network, enabling significant cost savings.

“No-one likes big mobile bills, and they don’t come any bigger than for international calls” said Geraldine Wilson, Truphone’s new CEO. “But for iPhone users, that no longer needs to be the case. They can choose either to pay standard international call rates, or to reduce them to as little as 3 pence or 6 cents per minute. It’s as simple as that, no catches.”

All of the original, great benefits of Truphone for the iPhone still apply:

• Truphone routes calls over the internet whenever possible, saving loads of money both on international calls from a user’s home country and on calls when connected to Wi-Fi abroad
• Truphone routes calls over the internet, so customers don’t need to worry about poor mobile reception. Calls are crystal clear and voice quality is superb from almost any Wi-Fi zone
• no monthly line rental, subscription or other hidden charges. Truphone customers only ever pay for the calls they make. Additional credit is simply purchased online, or an account may be set to top up [refill] automatically when it falls to a certain level
• Truphone is free to download via the iPhone App Store and takes seconds to install. New customers receive £1/$1 [UK/RoW] free calling credit to get them started
• with Truphone’s American Tru Saver bundle, calls within and to the USA and Canada can be as low as 0.75 pence/1.5 cents [UK/RoW] per minute
• calls within and to 40 countries (including UK, Australia, Brazil and most of Europe) are £0.03/$0.06 [UK/RoW] per minute to landlines and £0.15/$0.30 [UK/RoW] per minute to mobiles
• making a Truphone call couldn’t be simpler: open the Truphone application and dial as normal. Truphone uses the iPhone’s own address book.
• Truphone has been enabling iPhone users to make major savings on international calls since July, by routing outbound calls over the internet using Wi-Fi.

[ends]

Notes to editors

1. Truphone Anywhere works by connecting to a local Truphone server, which then connects the long-distance part of the call over the internet. The local connection to Truphone is, typically, free because it uses bundled minutes from the customer’s usual cellular service provider.
2. Truphone Anywhere is designed to save users money when making international calls from their home country. Using the service while abroad may result in higher charges.
3. Truphone Anywhere works using local ‘points of presence’. Truphone has points of presence in 33 countries.

Links and other resources

• Photo: Geraldine Wilson
• Truphone photos (Flickr)
• Truphone website

iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Truphone is a trademark of Software Cellular Network Limited. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners.

Make free calls to other iPod touch owners: no SIM, no contract, no money

Described by Apple itself as the ‘funnest’ iPod ever, the iPod touch may now be the ‘useful-est’ too thanks to FREE software – Truphone for iPod touch – that effectively turns one into a mobile phone.

Not only is the software free, but calls made using Truphone’s application for the iPod Touch are also FREE – just in time to save precious cash when making those Christmas calls to friends and family.

Once installed, and with the addition of microphone adaptor (Truphone microphone adaptor available soon)*, an iPod touch owner can make free calls – no matter where any are in the world – to other iPod touch owners, to customers of Truphone’s Internet telephony service, and to users of the Google Talk™ instant messaging service.

Truphone for iPod touch will become a one-stop-shop social hub with the following features coming soon:

• Making and receiving calls to and from landlines (PSTN) at low cost (simply set yourself up with a Truphone account)
• Instant messaging to Skype and MSN (free)
• Calling to Skype users (free)
• Calling to MSN users (free)
• Check and set facilities for Twitter (free)
• Check and set facilities for Facebook (free)

Truphone for iPod touch is easily downloaded from Apple’s App Store in exactly the same way as any other iPod touch application.

The software uses the iPod touch’s Wi-Fi connection to carry calls over the internet to its destination. There is no monthly line rental, no subscription or other hidden charges.

[ends]

*Microphone adaptor accessory currently available at the Apple Store.

Notes to editors

Links and resources

• Truphone for iPod touch: Screenshots
• Other Truphone pictures
• Truphone videos
• Truphone website

Types of FREE call that can be made:

• iPod touch to iPod touch
• iPod touch to Truphone (some Nokia handsets)
• Truphone (same Nokia handsets plus iPhone) to iPod touch
• iPod touch to Google Talk PC user

Requirements:

• A second generation iPod touch (i.e. current model)
• A free download of Truphone for iPod touch
• A headset and microphone like those for the iPhone. These may be bought at high street electronics retailers or from an Apple Store
• Friends also using Truphone!

Making a Truphone call on an iPod touch
This couldn’t be simpler: the Truphone application provides you with a virtual keypad that enables you to make the call.

How it works
Truphone works by routing calls over the Internet through Wi-Fi.

Important information
Truphone is not a replacement for an ordinary telephone service and emergency calls cannot be made using Truphone. Truphone cannot advise on the legality of VoIP [Voice over IP] services in specific territories or jurisdictions. It is the user’s responsibility to confirm that use of the Truphone VoIP software and service is permitted in the location in which they use it.

Apple and iPod are trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the United States and other countries. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. Google Talk is a trademark of Google Inc. Google Talk is not a telephony service and cannot be used for emergency dialling. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Truphone is a trademark of Software Cellular Network Ltd. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners.

Global mobile network operator Truphone today launched a beta of its mobile internet telephony service, Truphone Anywhere, for BlackBerry® smartphones. Truphone Anywhere brings simple, easy and cheap international calling to up to 40 million BlackBerry users across the world.

Truphone Anywhere works in 33 countries worldwide. It saves BlackBerry users from those countries money on the international calls they make from their home country. The service works alongside domestic service providers, but reduces international call costs to as little as £0.03/$0.06 per minute.

Truphone works with the user to save them money. Instead of requiring the user to remember what to do, Truphone Anywhere simply asks whether he/she wants to make a Truphone call whenever an international number is dialled. The user simply accepts, and Truphone connects the call.

“There’s no GSM business tariff that gets close to the prices we can offer BlackBerry users with Truphone for international calling,” said Geraldine Wilson, new CEO of Truphone. “And in these days of financial belt-tightening, businesses are looking at every means of cutting costs, which is an opportunity for us. Truphone is a genuine alternative carrier for international calls, with the potential to reduce annual mobile bills for the largest companies by many millions of dollars,” continued Wilson.

Aaron Simpson is the BlackBerry-using chief executive of Quintessentially, a private members’ club that provides a 24-hour global concierge service and is part of the world’s leading luxury lifestyle group. He stated: “Quintessentially has offices all around the world and, as CEO, I’m in constant contact with all of them. I’ve been using Truphone on my Blackberry and its low call rates have enabled me to make those calls at a fraction of the cost of using my mobile provider.”

In technical terms, Truphone Anywhere works by connecting to a local Truphone server, which then connects the long-distance part of the call over the internet. Because most BlackBerry users are contract customers, the local connection to Truphone is, typically, free because it uses bundled minutes from the customer’s usual cellular service provider.

Truphone for BlackBerry smartphones is available to download for free from www.truphone.com/blackberry. Alternatively, Handango users may also download Truphone from www.handango.com. There are no monthly subscriptions or other charges.

[ends]

The BlackBerry trademark is owned by Research in Motion Limited and is registered in the United states and may be pending registration in other countries. Truphone is a trademark of Software Cellular Network Limited. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners.

Notes to editors

1. Truphone Anywhere is designed to save users money when making international calls from their home country. Using the service while abroad may result in higher charges.
2. Truphone Anywhere works using local ‘points of presence’. Truphone has points of presence in 33 countries.

Links and other resources

• Photo: Geraldine Wilson
• Pictures: Truphone on the BlackBerry
• Other Truphone photos (Flickr)
• Truphone press office
• Truphone website

Mobile network operator Truphone today unveiled Geraldine Wilson as its new chief executive officer. Appointment of the former Vice President and General Manager of Yahoo!’s European mobile division, Connected Life, marks a new phase of growth for Truphone, which will increasingly aim to attract ‘typical’ mobile phone users to its low-cost, mobile internet telephony service.

Geraldine Wilson will join Truphone in early November after almost two and a half years at Yahoo!. In her previous role she was responsible for growing the ISP’s broadband and mobile business in Europe, her remit including business, marketing strategy and operations. She joined Yahoo! from Vodafone where, among others, she held the key positions of Chief Commercial Officer for Vodafone Sweden, and Managing Director of UK Content Services for Vodafone UK.

Before that, she was Managing Director of Vizzavi UK and Director for Prepay at Vodafone UK where she was responsible for the successful launch of the company’s “Pay as you Talk” proposition. In total she brings more than 20 years of product, marketing and sales experience in the mobile and telecoms industry to her new role.

Commenting on her new role at Truphone, Geraldine Wilson said: “Truphone has clearly established itself as a pioneer of next generation mobile telephony with ground breaking applications such as Truphone for the iPhone. But every successful disruptive technology must eventually become the norm in order to truly succeed, so the mass market is where the future must lie for Truphone.”

John McMonigall, chairman of Truphone’s Board of Directors, said: “With 20 years experience in mobile and telecoms Geraldine Wilson is by any definition the consummate industry professional. The Board welcomes her, her energy and her focus, and looks forward to helping her drive Truphone into the mobile consumer marketplace.”

Previous CEO James Tagg, who originally invented and developed the Truphone service with CTO and co-founder Alistair Campbell, moves to the role of Chief Architect.

[ends]

Truphone is a trading name of Software Cellular Network Ltd. Other product and service names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Ever tried to call someone on holiday and not got through? Don’t be surprised – according to a survey by mobile experts SIM4travel, 41% of us have binned a call without answering it while on holiday – because we don’t like paying for inbound calls when we’re abroad.

Welsh people are most likely to ignore a call with 50% admitting that they sometimes do, but East Anglians are least likely to bin calls, at 29%.

Even if you get through, don’t expect to chat like you do at home. Almost half your friends will try to hurry you off the phone – probably because they are worried about the bill.

We dislike paying for inbound calls so much that one in seven people who take their mobile with them on holiday never turn it on. “More than half of us are frightened of receiving a huge phone bill when we get home,” said Suk Grewal, marketing director of SIM4travel.

[ends]

Research was carried out on behalf of SIM4travel by the independent market research company BMRB. BMRB interviewed 1000 people aged between 16-64 between August 9th and August 11th.

About SIM4travel
SIM4travel, which commissioned the survey, operates its own Pay As You Go global network. With a SIM4travel international SIM card there are no charges for inbound calls in the EU, and calls home are just 25p per minute. Worldwide, savings of up to 80% are possible in more than 50 countries worldwide. SIM4travel is a trading name of Software Cellular Network Limited. For more information visit the press office.

Mobile phone users can now make cheap calls to the USA and Canada for just US$0.015 per minute, from anywhere in the world.

This is the terrific result of global mobile operator Truphone’s first minutes ‘bundle’ – Tru Saver – which offers iPhone and Nokia handset owners 1,000 minutes to the USA and Canada for only US$14.99 per month.

For purposes of comparison:

• UK customers pay UK£7.49 per month for the Tru Saver bundle.
• A UK ‘pay monthly’ iPhone owner making a call to the USA or Canada, with O2’s International Traveller Service option, is charged UK£0.17 per minute. This means that someone making more than 45 minutes of calls to the USA/Canada in a month will be better off with the Tru Saver bundle.
• Without the International Traveller Service option (i.e. a customer on O2’s £30 per month tariff), the otherwise-identical O2 customer is charged UK£0.99 per minute. For this customer, the payback period on the Tru Saver bundle is reduced to a little over seven and a half minutes of calls – offering, effectively, a further 992.5 Tru Saver minutes for free.
• Since the Tru Saver bundle applies for calls to the United States and Canada from anywhere in the world, the payback period for an iPhone user calling these countries while roaming are even shorter – as little as three or four minutes in some cases, giving up to 996 effectively free Tru Saver minutes.

James Tagg, Truphone’s CEO, said, “iPhone and Nokia owners who regularly call North America can purchase Truphone’s bundle to get ‘peace of mind’ pricing of just 1.5 US cents – 0.75 pence – per minute to the USA and Canada from anywhere in the world. People don’t want to calculate precise ‘per minute’ rates, or check tariff websites, or take a paid-for tariff ‘bolt-on’ to get a still-high rate. They simply want to feel comfortable about what they’re going to pay for the call they want to make.”

Truphone carries calls via Wi-Fi and the internet. However, for Nokia handset owners with bundled GSM minutes as part of their GSM operator’s plan, the combination of Truphone’s new bundle with Truphone Anywhere – which enables cheap mobile calls via the internet even when not connected to the Internet – makes possible mobile calls to the USA or Canada at the amazing price of just 1.5 US cents per minute [UK£0.0075 per minute] even when the caller is on the move and outside Wi-Fi.

[ends]

iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc, registered in the United States and other countries. Truphone is a trademark of Software Cellular Network Limited.

Truphone has phased in important new service improvements that ensure its customers need never run out of credit again. The improvements are fourfold:

• customers can now easily top-up [refill their credit] while on the move, via either handset screen-optimised web pages or an automated telephone top-up service;
• customers may set their account to ‘auto top-up’ [screenshot], in which case their credit is automatically refilled when credit has fallen to a specified level;
• Truphone now sends ‘low balance’ SMS alerts to customers as their credit starts to exhaust;
• payments may also now be made via a wider variety of credit and debit cards.

The top-up improvements benefit all Truphone customers, including users of Truphone for the Apple® iPhone™. Designed to provide low-priced international calls for iPhone users, Truphone hit Apple’s new App Store on July 11th and was the first internet telephony application available for the iPhone.

“We’ve fully addressed the issues of topping-up credit while on the move, because running out is one of the most irritating things for any mobile phone user,” said Gavin Miller, Truphone’s director of customer services. “We listened to a range of suggestions from our customers, and we’ve acted on all of them. No-one ever needs to find themselves unable to use Truphone.”

[ends]

Truphone is a trademark of Software Cellular Network Limited. Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc.

Designed to provide low-priced international calls for Apple® iPhone users, Truphone for the iPhone hit Apple’s new App Store today.

James Tagg, Truphone’s CEO, said: “What Truphone for the iPhone does is really simple but absolutely sensational: it gives people low-priced international calls, whether they want to phone someone abroad or avoid roaming charges when making calls from abroad.

“With just a few clicks to download and install Truphone, anyone can afford to take their iPhone on holiday this summer – or call their friends and family abroad,” he added.

Truphone enables an iPhone to make calls to any number over the internet instead of over GSM, at Truphone’s fabulous internet rates. The rates are especially competitive for international calls, including landlines in 40 countries at GBP0.03 [USD0.06] per minute and mobiles at just GBP0.15 [USD0.30] per minute. To Canada, the USA and China, even calls to mobiles are just GBP0.03 [USD0.06] per minute.

Making a call using Truphone is exactly like making any other call on the iPhone: a single touch to bring the dialler up on the touch screen, touch-dial the number or choose from the iPhone’s own address book, and a touch to start the call.

Truphone for the iPhone is available to download from Apple’s new AppStore for free. There are no monthly subscriptions or other charges. Visit www.truphone.com/iphone for more information.

[ends]

Apple, iPhone, and Apple Store are trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the US and other countries. Truphone is a trademark of Software Cellular Network Limited.

Links

• Photo: James Tagg
• Pictures: Truphone on the iPhone
• Video: Truphone on the iPhone (YouTube)
• Other Truphone photos (Flickr)
• Truphone website

Truphone has enhanced its service to enable customers make mobile calls across the internet even when they’re on the move and thus not connected to the internet. The announcement of Truphone Anywhere is a boost to mobile phone users desperate to circumvent the high cost of calling abroad when they’re out and about. Truphone Anywhere benefits customers while they are in ordinary mobile reception by automatically sending the long-distance part of their call over the internet, significantly reducing the total cost of the call.

Truphone Anywhere involves no calling card, no access number, and no funny business – customers just dial and save. Truphone Anywhere calls simply take a fraction longer to set up than usual and it works as follows:

• when an international number is dialled, the Truphone software detects what is happening and takes over automatically
• instead of allowing the international call to be made over the handset’s usual GSM network, Truphone Anywhere makes a domestic call to your local Truphone server and sends to the server the international number being called
• the Truphone server then makes an internet call to that number and connects that long-distance internet call with the domestic call
• the customer pays only for the call to the local Truphone server (this is likely to be free if the customer has ‘bundled minutes’ with his/her GSM operator) plus Truphone charges for the internet portion of the call, which are as little as £0.03/minute [US$0.06/min] to call any regular landline in more than 40 countries
• throughout this process the customer does not need to do anything differently except acknowledge, once, that Truphone Anywhere will route this particular call; in every other respect everything happens automatically, invisibly and almost instantly
• technically, this technique is known as call-through
• in some instances, such as when using Truphone Anywhere abroad, the handset sends an initial SMS to the Truphone server instead of calling it. The Truphone server then calls back to the handset and simultaneously makes an internet call to the called party, connecting the calls together at Truphone’s server; however this all remains transparent to the mobile user. This variation on the technique is known as call-back.

Truphone Anywhere is typically of most benefit to customers making calls from their home country to international numbers, and this is the default setting for Truphone Anywhere. Advanced users may choose to make Truphone Anywhere the default calling mechanism for other call scenarios – for example, depending on the customer’s tariff with their usual operator, Truphone Anywhere may also save money on international calls made when roaming abroad.

Truphone Anywhere can significantly reduce call costs compared to standard international tariffs:

• UK example: to make a 10 minute call from the UK to an Australian landline:
  - price with Orange Pay Monthly: £0.50/min x 10 = £5.00
  - price with Truphone Anywhere: £0.03/min x 10 = £0.30
  - how: an in-bundle call to Truphone’s UK server, plus a £0.03/min Truphone call to an Australian landline.
• USA example: to make a 10 minute call from the USA to a Chinese landline:
  - price with AT&T International Dial Standard rates: $3.49/min x 10 = $34.90
  - price with AT&T World Connect (additional $3.99 per month): $0.15/min x 10 = $1.50
  - price with Truphone Anywhere: $0.06/min x 10 = $0.60
  - how: an in-bundle call to Truphone’s USA server, plus a $0.06/min Truphone call to a Chinese landline.

Truphone’s ‘Tru Zone’ pricing means call charges are always predictable and low, without any additional calling plan or change to a contract.

James Tagg, Truphone’s chief executive officer, said: “The days of having to pay through the nose to make international calls are no longer just numbered, they are gone; international calls from mobile phones are easier and more affordable than ever. People can now make a Truphone call globally and the cost will be close to that of a local call, even if they’re not in Wi-Fi. Of course, if they are in Wi-Fi and they make a Truphone call, it can cost even less.”

“One of the best things about Truphone is that it doesn’t force anyone to use their phone in a different way, or to remember to have to do something differently. It’s simple: people just dial, and save,” he added.

[ends]

Notes to editors

1. Truphone Anywhere is of most benefit to customers making calls to international numbers while out of Wi-Fi range. It is of particular advantage to people making international calls from their home country that have a deal which includes bundled or low cost minutes for domestic calls. Typically this includes North American mobile users, monthly contract customers, and many prepay customers with minimum top-up amounts. European pay-as-you-go customers and those with international discount packs should check their tariff to determine how they can make savings.
2. Truphone Anywhere is part of the latest version of the Truphone service, and works on handsets that are already compatible with Truphone. New and existing customers can get/upgrade to this latest version of Truphone by sending an SMS message with the word ‘Tru’ to 202 683 8200 (from North America) or to +44 7978 88 11 11 (from everywhere else).
3. Truphone is a mobile operator for the Internet age, delivering a UK-based service accessible from around the world. In addition to Truphone Anywhere calls, all Truphone customers can make free and low-cost mobile VoIP calls over Wi-Fi and the internet. Truphone-to-Truphone calls are always free. A Truphone customer may opt to make any call over GSM rather than via either Truphone or Truphone Anywhere, if they prefer to do so.
4. Links to further media resources:
   - Truphone website
   - Truphone press office
   - All Truphone pictures
   - All Truphone videos
   - Truphone-supported handsets
   - Alternative picture: James Tagg, Truphone CEO

New round to fund ongoing development of world’s first global mobile operator

Mobile internet network operator Truphone has raised £16.5m ($32.7m) of Series B venture capital funding.

The round was led by private investors, with all of Truphone’s existing backers – Burda Digital Ventures, Eden Ventures, Independent News & Media, Straub Ventures and Wellington Partners – also participating.

Truphone is a global, mobile operator that enables free and low-cost mobile phone calls via the internet, offering dramatic value to customers. Through the recent purchase of SIM4travel, Truphone has also completed its GSM core network, which will enable it to offer low-cost GSM calls worldwide via a travel SIM.

With the additional funding available from the new round, Truphone plans to deliver on its vision of providing a killer combination of mobile cost and mobile convenience: a single, global SIM card that offers not only low call charges both domestically and abroad, but also internet calls at free and ultra-low prices.

“We aim to provide ultimate price and convenience, wherever you are. One world, one SIM,” commented James Tagg, Truphone’s CEO. “Beyond that, as a ‘Voice 2.0’ company we can start to develop and introduce new internet-based features and applications that give customers a richer mobile experience.”

“The additional funding reflects the investors’ belief in and understanding of this vision. The capital will enable us to structure and focus our business to ensure that everything we do contributes towards the achievement of our aims,” he said.

John McMonigall, chairman of Truphone’s Board of Directors, said: “As we enter the next phase of the Truphone revolution, the success of this financing round makes it clear that our investors recognise the business opportunity from convergence and disruption in the mobile space.”

In December 2006, Truphone raised £12.5m ($24.5m) in Series A funding, believed to be the European technology sector’s largest Series A venture funding of 2006.

The company has developed a carrier-grade, global operator infrastructure including a global network of SIP gateways, a Nokia Siemens Networks mobile network Home Location Register (HLR) and a GSM identifier. The infrastructure is capable of supporting 40 million customers worldwide.

This is all enabled by a series of global agreements with PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) providers.

About Truphone’s [named] investors (in alphabetical order):

• Burda Digital Ventures: visit www.burdadigital.de
• Eden Ventures: visit www.edenventures.co.uk
• Independent News & Media: visit www.inmplc.com
• Straub Ventures: visit www.straubventures.com
• Wellington Partners: visit www.wellington-partners.com