MobilityPass
offers
worldwide Internet access, and a global SIM card product with an
interesting suite of services. Bob Baker, Marketing Manager,
and Cyril Gana, Wholesale Support, were kind enough to complete an
interview with Prepaid-Wireless-Guide.com; read the interview below!
Interview
Date:
November 12, 2009
1.
[PWG]
What’s MobilityPass’ target demographic? Is it mostly for business
travelers or for
consumers as well?
[Baker]
The main target is to get anyone who wants to stay in touch with their
contacts, whether business wise or with family and friends, globally
connected.
We have been doing this almost 10 years now and have more than
100,000 members
connected!
The Business
travelers will benefit the most when using the 3G Broadband solution in
combination with the Voice SIM cards we offer. They will be able to
connect to
the Internet anywhere while traveling, and receive free incoming calls
abroad
using only one account. No need to change to another SIM card in each
country to
avoid the high roaming costs; always the same number, but never the
excessive
costs. The guarantee that all data traffic is encrypted makes using the
MobilityPass services a safe way to do business over the Internet when
traveling.
For businesses and
consumers, our Compass services are a perfect solution to stay in touch
with
all contacts; sending text messages, making VoIP phone calls, sending
faxes and
emails, it’s all safe and protected against interference from
the outside.
[Gana]
Mostly business travelers needing a reliable solution to
connect to the
Internet wherever they are, and wanting to reduce the cost involved by
global
communications. Frequent travelers and consumers are mainly interest by
our
global voice SIM card.
2. [PWG]
How does
MobilityPass differentiate itself from its
competitors?
[Baker]
MobilityPass combines all services into one membership; a complete
package of
communication tools to stay connected all over the world.
It’s easy to say that
we provide the most and best services in comparison to our competitors.
We
would rather compare our services to the "Swiss Knife" where you find
everything you need; all in one. That really is the difference between
us and
the competition.
[Gana] We’re the
only company offering a reliable and efficient
solution that regroups mobile Internet and voice services through the
biggest
WiFi hotpots, dial-up, 3G and voice networks. One account, one login,
and
unified billing for worldwide services.
3.
[PWG]
You offer mobile broadband and Global SIM cards; is
MobilityPass focusing development on both products equally, or do you
find more
interest/usage in one versus the other service?
[Baker]
In this case we would like to point out that the
combination of both is what
the frequent traveler uses most. In the near future they will merge
into one
product; a SIM card for Voice and Data use which uses the "Subscriber
Identity Module" as a key to access all communication services. When
you
are traveling you would like to be able to go onto the Internet, but
also would
like to speak to the people you are doing business with. Of course we
can
imagine when contacting home, it’s nice to hear a familiar
voice instead of an
email.
When customers ask
us about connecting to the Internet while traveling, we always inform
them
about the combination of both services. It’s surprising to
hear that more than
50% of those customers still take the roaming costs on telephone calls
for
granted, it doesn’t take a lot to convince them to buy both
products and save
money on their communication.
[Gana]
We are focusing development on both products equally
giving the same importance
to the quality of the service, the coverage, a live control of the
traffic and
the security. There is more interest for the global voice SIM card but
the new
generation of mobile phones with email, widgets and online features is
now
pushing our consumers to search of global an affordable voice and data
solution.
4. [PWG] As wireless
carriers
begin to offer more flexible
services, with competitive international pricing, how will MobilityPass
position itself as the better option?
[Baker]
Mainly because we provide so many flexible services in one membership
and have
huge coverage around the world. Talking about flexible; no contracts,
no
commitment, and at the moment offering the best personal support
around.
MobilityPass’s human
support team is
what makes a lot of difference; in 5 languages we can support our
customers or
give any information needed. Wireless carriers will keep on fighting
for their
local market and do not really intend to provide a Global service for
international
travelers. Bound by law they now offer competitive prices, compared to
MobilityPass that offers the best rates and services for Global
travelers
wishing to connect anywhere at any time.
MobilityPass has
been serving our members for almost 10 years; we have only been able to
do this
by staying updated on the latest techniques and developments. We will
be
constantly looking for better, more efficient, and customer friendly
products
to keep providing the best service we have; the MobilityPass membership.
[Gana]
No contract, no engagement, pay for your usage, competitive pricing,
one login
and account to use hundreds of carriers around the world.
5.
[PWG]
Other than direct from your website, where can
prospective customers purchase your products?
Do you have distribution in any airports?
[Baker]
At the moment all services will only be available online
at the MobilityPass
web site. The reason is that we think that the responsibility that
comes with
providing such services as we do should be done very carefully.
Privacy,
security, and personal assistance are very important to MobilityPass,
we would
like to keep on giving our members the trust as they gave us ours when
they
sign up for a membership. We did, however, recently started with our
Reseller
program that gives those interested the opportunity to be a part of the
still
growing market in Global communication.
[Gana] In order to keep
our flexibility and good pricing, and
because we have a strong 10 year experience in selling online our
products, we
do not yet distribute in airports or shops. To expand our business and
the
distribution of our services, we have chosen to create a
distributors/resellers
program. It is now about to be released.
6.
[PWG]
MobilityPass has operations and infrastructure in Canada and Spain;
tell us about how that
presence evolved?
[Baker]
As said, MobilityPass is and has been responsible for
connecting many people
throughout the last 10 years. Having members all over the world made us
look
for strategic locations to be able to keep all users making use of an
efficient
and accessible network. North America and Europe is the start; we are
expecting
to include Asia and South America
in the very
near future. MobilityPass wants to stay ahead because we desire to keep
providing the most excellent communication services throughout the
world.
[Gana]
MobilityPass operation are located in North America and Europe in order
to
provide quicker access, full redundancy and backup from 2 different
continents
in order to get really two different routes and time zones. The next
step is to
open a third one that covers Asia
as well.
7.
[PWG]
I read about your dual number SIM offering; it sounds
like an extremely convenient service.
Can you describe in more detail how it works?
[Baker]
When customers/members purchase a Dual Voice SIM card it
comes with two
numbers; a UK
and a US
number. Both
numbers can be reached at the same time. For (business) travelers from
the US
this means their US
contacts will call at local
rates and incoming calls are only $0.25 a minute without roaming
charges(!).
Their European customers can call to the UK
number, and in that case (in 65
countries) the incoming calls are totally free. The same goes for users
from
the UK
the other way around. The Voice SIM cards make sure our members can
travel the
world and can be reached on the same number(s) wherever they go, in
combination
with centralized billing, the advantage is not only for the user but
also for
the company he/she is working for. It’s pay-as-you-go without
recurring fees,
and there is no commitment. Remember that when using your own cell
phone abroad
you will have to pay for all incoming calls and roaming will be
applied(!!).
[Gana]
Very simple. The SIM cards come with a UK
number, and will allow you to
receive free incoming calls in over 50 countries. But they also come
with a
pre-allocated US
number. Once activated, with a single code to enter on your mobile
phone, you
can also receive calls on your US
number. The service will work with both numbers simultaneously.
8.
[PWG]
Can customers activate their own compatible
mobile broadband card on your service, or
are they required to purchase a broadband modem from MobilityPass?
[Baker]
At the moment we allow members/customers to make use of our services
even when
they have either their own Data card or an unlocked 3G Modem from
another
provider.
We do advise our
customers clearly when they want to use their own equipment in
combination with
our products, in most cases there are no major technical problems. You
will
understand that we do not take responsibility if a technical problem
occurs, we
are always ready to assist all of our members, but we have to draw a
line
somewhere when it comes to devices that we didn’t deliver.
[Gana] Customers can
use their own USB 3G modem if unlocked with
our data SIM card. But to use our Mobile
broadband service, our data SIM card is necessary. It is good to know
that
other carriers are providing USB modems not always compatible
with all networks and generally “locked”. We offer
a USB modem that works
everywhere and admins any other data SIM cards if required (for
instance to use
their own mobile broadband SIM card in their national territory).
To ensure a
perfect compatibility and simplicity of use we always recommend our
customers
to choose the Mobile Broadband pack.
9.
[PWG]
Innovation has a lot to do with staying ahead of the
competition; is there anything you can share about any exciting new
products or
services that customers can look forward to seeing from MobilityPass in
the
next couple of years.
[Baker]
If we would have a new and exiting product, we will wait by introducing
it to
the press until we are definitely sure we can launch it to be a success
right
away without technical flaws or with the risk our members will
experience any
nuisance while using it. We do increase our coverage on a weekly basis,
and
launch new extensions on our services monthly. But we will give you a
small
preview; in the following month we will start with a MobilityPass SIM
to get
high speed connections wherever you are. Data transmission protected by
a
transparent VPN tunnel and providing all needed communication services:
Internet, voice service, text messaging, fax, secured push email, and
lots
more. All-in-one available from any Mobile phone or laptop. Concerning
service(s) we can only say that this is a part of our goal to always
improve
and develop. The opinion of our members, the reviews we receive, and
our own
experience using MobilityPass keep us motivated to keep on going and
make
MobilityPass the best "Swiss Knife" in communication there is.
[Gana] Yes, a real
improvement of the security on all types of
Internet 3G networks through an included VPN service. It will allow to
have a
total control on each and every connection to by-pass local port
restrictions
and allow a total live cost control.
10.
[PWG]
Unlimited service is really getting a lot of attention
these days, specifically in the prepaid market.
Will MobilityPass offer unlimited service, perhaps even
combining voice
and mobile broadband for people on extended travel?
[Baker]
We know there is a demand for the so called unlimited
service; we are also
looking at the possibilities. In the past we did offer this service but
as
everyone probable knows this can lead to quite some trouble while
traveling and
several providers already stopped this service. The bills exceeding up
to $16,000
and sometimes more are the best examples to show this only works when
using
Internet services within your own country. We think that the user
should know
what and how much he is paying for our services.
[Gana] What do you
mean by “Unlimited”, in most of the countries
there is not even freedom of access. There are
“Limits”. In that sense, yes, we
do intend to offer Unlimited access. But real
“Unlimited” plans (for prepaid access)
do not exist. Each carrier charges extra when a certain amount of data
or
online time is reached. Adding unlimited plans would certainly
complicate our
offer, and will force our customers to select an engagement period. It
goes
again to the simplicity and freedom we offer.
11.
[PWG]
Is there anything else
about MobilityPass that you’d like to call out that you
think would be of interest to prospective customers?
[Baker]
For those who travel frequently and the ones that would
like to stay connected
anywhere they go, we offer a unique solution. Considering all of the
services
we provide, personal assistance and the quality of the products we
offer,
MobilityPass truly is the best partner in Global communication.
[Gana] Yes, apart from the
global voice SIM card and Mobile
broadband access, all MobilityPass members can login on over 100,000
WiFi
hotspots worldwide, located in all major airports, hotels, train
stations,
restaurants...,
- use
a backup dial-up access in countries where 3G or WiFi are not
available,
- use
our Compass software for low rate SMS, voice calls, fax, cross-platform
IM,
- and
benefit from a global SMTP mail server for sending emails from abroad,
and with
any account they may have.
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