August 23rd, 2006
Hullo: what's your business model? Hello?
Based on Alex Saunders’ suggestion, I have downloaded and installed a new free softphone called hullo.
It’s so easy..no complicated configuration procedures.
It’s scalable in terms of conference call participants. As Alex points out, the scalability is due in large part to the fact that hullo is not a P2P application, but one which runs Versatel Networks EdgeIQ series hardware on the backend.
I prefer a headset, but hullo doesn’t require one. It works on traditional phones as well.
But here is something interesting I bet you didn’t know. When I made a call over hullo, it showed a number of 1-902-221-1054. That’s in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And when I did a whois search for hullo.com, it showed the domain is owned by Quebec-based Versatel Networks.
Could it be then, that Versatel has decided to offer this hullo service not as a revenue generator but as a type of product showcase for its EdgeIQ Hardware? Here’s a diagram:
If that’s the case, I’m wondering about the ROI here. Plainly, that phone number I cited will render Versatel liable for termination fees. Such fees would make more business sense to me if this were a closed-end demonstration for target customers?
And when I write about Versatel’s target customers, I don’t mean consumers, and I don’t mean most of you, unless you are, or work for a service provider.
So how will this service be monetized? I see an eventual subscription model, leveraging expanded conference calling, rules flexibility, portable handoffs and other functionalities.
Russell Shaw is an enterprise computing journalist, analyst and author based in Portland, Oregon. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
