iBasis Launches Pingo Retail Prepaid Long Distance Service with Million Minute Free Giveaway
September 15, 2004 7:00am ET (BusinessWire)
Web-based Service Offers Rechargeable, Low-cost International Calling Service; Builds on iBasis' Growth in Retail Services
iBasis, Inc. (OTCBB: IBAS), a leading provider of international long distance service, VoIP, and prepaid calling cards, today announced the launch of Pingo(TM), a prepaid calling service offered directly to consumers through an eCommerce web interface at www.pingo.com. The Pingo launch is supported by an introductory promotion in which the Company will give away a total of one million minutes of international calling to more than 50 destinations.
Pingo customers in the United States use credit cards to purchase calling time over the iBasis network, which provides international long distance phone service to more than 100 countries. The Pingo service utilizes the same global VoIP infrastructure iBasis uses to provide high quality international long distance service to its wholesale carrier customers.
"Almost 40% of international phone calls from the U.S. are placed using prepaid calling services today," said Ofer Gneezy, president and CEO of iBasis. "Pingo complements the success we have achieved in the retail calling card segment of that market, by giving us a highly efficient eCommerce sales channel to reach another segment -- the rapidly growing population of foreign-born knowledge workers who have credit and use the Internet to purchase goods and services. Pingo enables us to expand into the direct consumer service business to generate additional growth without capital expense."
Million Minute Giveaway
iBasis is supporting the launch of Pingo through a web-based marketing campaign offering one million minutes of free long distance calling to more than 50 destinations around the world. While the free calling time promotion is very compelling for consumers, it comes at very low cost for iBasis due to the efficiency of the iBasis network. Once Pingo customers exhaust the pool of free minutes, subsequent calls will be charged at the normal low Pingo rates. Included in the Million Minute Giveaway are destinations in many of the most frequently called countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Mexico, Russia, and the United Kingdom.
Tapping a Large and Growing Market
Pingo addresses a very large and rapidly growing consumer market for international phone service. Consumers are seeking alternatives following announcements from carriers such as AT&T, MCI and Sprint that they are scaling back or eliminating consumer services from their ongoing marketing efforts.
The U.S. Census Bureau report of 2003 revealed that the foreign-born population in the U.S. exceeded 28.4 million in 2000, growing more than 25% over the previous decade to represent more than 10% of the total U.S. population. Hispanics and Chinese-Americans represent two of the largest market opportunities for Pingo. In January 2003 there were approximately 12.4 million Hispanic Internet users, a market segment that was growing by 15 to 20% annually, according to a study by independent research firm Comscore Networks. The Chinese American community, numbered 2.7 million in 2000 according to the U.S. Census. Sina.com, the largest provider of online news and entertainment information for Chinese-Americans, estimates that 57% of Chinese Americans make Internet purchases regularly.
Pingo Features
Pingo is designed to provide the savings of discount calling cards with added convenience features and the reliable quality of one of the world's largest international carriers, iBasis. Pingo customers select an amount to be charged to their credit card and are provided with a toll-free access number, account number and Personal Identification Number (PIN). As they use the service to place long distance calls, their account is debited according to the current per-minute Pingo rate. The only fees Pingo charges are a 98 cents per month account maintenance fee and a surcharge for calls placed from a pay phone (which all carriers charge). Other Pingo features include:
-- PINpass(TM) -- enables Pingo customers to by-pass having to enter their account number and PIN. Pingo users simply register the phone numbers of the fixed line, mobile, home and office phones they use most frequently, and using ANI recognition, Pingo will automatically "recognize" them;
-- Auto-recharge - ensures continuous service by automatically refilling the users prepaid account when the balance reaches a minimum threshold. Customers set the recharge amount and a limit on the number of times per month their account can be recharged;
-- Online Call History and Billing Reports - provide current views of the Pingo customers usage and account transactions;
-- Refer-a-Friend (www.pingo.com/referafriend.do) - promotes efficient word-of-mouth marketing by rewarding Pingo customers for referrals that become new Pingo customers. |
