Sponsored VoIP?
from the and-here-come-the-business-models dept
Just this morning we were talking about how price wars were pushing the price of VoIP lower and lower. So, it shouldn't be any surprise that some are experimenting with completely different business models around the idea of free VoIP. Up in Canada, Labatt Brewery decided to give everyone free VoIP calls, in exchange for a 10 second commercial about Labatt. The company that provided the VoIP service (it was a limited time promotion) is talking to other retailers about doing a similar sort of deal. It doesn't take much of an imagination to see how the ability for a company to brand VoIP could really disrupt the telecom world even more than expected. Suddenly, it won't be Verizon competing against Vonage - but Wal*Mart or Microsoft or Google... Already we have the MVNO concept in the wireless carrier world, where a company like Virgin can offer mobile phone service just by slapping their brand on a wireless carrier's service - so imagine the same thing in the VoIP world as well.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in thread ]