Mobile VoIP
provider Truphone (
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The new SMS over IP capability lets Truphone users send unlimited text messages to other Truphone users for free and to all other mobile numbers worldwide for a flat-rate of $0.15 (GBP0.07).
“We were the first company to demonstrate SMS-over-IP
in our preview version at the beginning of June and we’ve been delighted at the feedback we've received,” said Truphone’s CEO James Tagg in a press release. “People love free and low-cost text messages. Today, the new Truphone service is ready to download for everyone."
Truphone has also added presence functionality into its mobile VoIP software (version 3.0) which lets users know when other users are on the network.
"The ability to see presence - to know a contact is online and callable for free - has particular significance for mobile users, because there are far greater savings to be had,” Tagg said. “Now you know for sure when that mobile call to your uncle in Australia is free."
The company has also added a multi-SIM capability which means travelers who take international SIM cards with them abroad can make calls via whichever SIM they're using at the time (i.e. whether on a GSM
, UMTS or CDMA network).
"The introduction of these new IP-enabled services gives a glimpse of the potential for pure IP mobile telephony and demonstrates the clear benefits of true IP telephony over bridging solutions,” Tagg said. “We envisage a world where content-rich, location-based services and much more will be possible via Truphone."
Truphone is a software-only mobile VoIP service which works over WiFi (
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network. All a user has to do is download the software client onto a compatible dual-mode mobile phone (most Nokia (
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Alert) smartphones support the service). Calls are truly free when placed via WiFi. Calls placed over the data portion of a provider’s 3G network are charged via whatever the mobile operator charges for data usage. The company recommends using the service via WiFi as it is completely free to other users, plus the sound quality tends to be better.
Truphone’s software is based on open source technology and internationally-recognized open standards. Calls are routed via WiFi using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP
) and Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) with RTP handling Network Address Translation (NAT). To bridge calls to the PSTN, voice signals are transcoded from the G.711 codec to the Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) codec via a SIP router (similarly, calls originating from the PSTN are bridged to IP). The handset software is written in C++ on the Symbian (
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Truphone made news on TMCnet just several weeks ago when it
announced that it had successfully ported FreeSWITCH’s open source telephony application code to TelcoBridges’ (
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In addition, Truhpone has announced that US customers with WiFi-ready Nokia smartphones will be able to make free international calls to landlines in 40 countries throughout the rest of 2007. This is an extension of the company’s previous price promotion, which was to end on June 30. Customers (on-net users) can make free mobile VoIP calls across the USA and Canada.
Truphone announced in March that its mobile VoIP service is now supported on all WiFi-enabled Nokia handsets, including the popular new E- and N-series.The company plans to support additional WiFi-enabled phones, including those built on the Windows Mobile platform, in the near future.
Nokia smartphone users can get Truphone by sending a text message with the word “Tru” to +44 7624 000000.
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Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for Customer Interaction Solutions magazine and Assignment Editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.
