The company’s call-bridging services allow customers to redirect calls from a cell phone, landline or VoIP phone to a designated number. It also enables call screening on cell phones, where users can listen to voicemail in real-time without having to pick up, as well as call forwarding and Web-based messaging services.
Rather than use VoIP to deliver cheap long-distance calls, CallWave uses VoIP to deliver these cell phone services. It also has its own call-switching facility in Reno, Nevada through its subsidiary Liberty Telecom.
Its new pre-paid mobile phone services also includes a new follow-me-home feature that transfers calls from a cell phone that has been switched off to a designated landline. The service is $3.95 per month, plus a $19.95 charge for a Nokia cell phone.
Why would you want to pay an extra fee each month, on top of your cell-phone minutes? According to chief marketing officer Adrian van Haaften, the features have been designed to save users money by giving them the option to spend less time on the cell phone network.
While other companies, such as AOL, offer similar types of cell phone features, CallWave’s VoIP approach is a differentiator. It’s interesting, said IDC analyst Will Stofega.
But CallWave’s direct sale approach may limit the company’s success, he said. If the company bundled its services with offerings from a phone carrier, it likely would expand its reach, Stofega said.
After all, it’s just a matter of time before companies such as industry heavyweight Vonage start offering similar services. With Vonage, it’s going to be all about mobility, Stofega said.
Vonage declined comment on its mobile VoIP strategy.
CallWave, which went public last September, has been profitable for 13 straight quarters, according to van Haaften.
We’re really the only public, profitable VoIP company out there, Haaften said.
Santa Barbara, California-based CallWave has more than 100 workers.
