July 21, 2006
VoIP Providers' Business Model Makes Sense
On VoIPWiki, Charlie Paglee talks about how Skype's business model seems counterintuitive to traditional business models, but is actually working for them. In fact, most softVoIP providers are following the same model.
Their model of giving away the software as well as some of the calls makes a great deal of sense. But in traditional bricks and mortar business it probably wouldn't work. It'd almost be equivalent to car makers giving cars away for free (although even that may not help Ford Motor Co right now) and charging for the gas - provided they had a monopoly on the gas.
Jajah, Babble and lately Gizmo Project are some of the softVoIP providers following along in the same model, allowing not just free PC-to-PC calls, but some other combinations involving PSTN phones/ mobile phones. The model works, I'm thinking, because the Internet, although vast, is essentially a closed system, and any softVoIP provider is satisfying the needs of a different user than hardVoIP providers.
--
Did you enjoy this post?
« On-The-Fly VoIP Call Language Translation - Sort Of | Main | TalQer Enhances VoIP For Google Talk »
