Interview with Avi Shechter, CEO, Fring

Can you give me some background to Fring? How did you establish such a company?                                       

We started with Fring project toward the end of 2004, so about 2 years ago. We got started from a small garage along with three partners. My partners are very technology oriented and very experienced in the mobile and telephony domain. I come from for the internet world, from company called ICQ. I was the General Manager there for several years. In 2006 we raised some money and got started, got employees on board, and are testing right now. We are very excited from the feedback we are getting from the users all over the world.

What is the underlying protocol for your softphone? Is it SIP?

Where there is possible we are adhering to standards. In some places we found that we must use a proprietary component in order to make the softclient really efficient.  Our system is specifically designed and built for mobile environment which means that CPU is very limited, bandwidth is scarce, and battery life is really constrained. So we specifically built an architecture which works against those constrains. We have built a hybrid client-server architecture that takes into account these problems and try to give the user the best user experience.

Your VoIP software seems to be working with Nokia 3G handsets mainly. Which other handsets does it work on?

We started with Nokia because we like the Symbian platform which is fairly open. It has the capabilities that we need and Nokia is a good partner to start with. Obviously we think that they would get this handset to as many users as possible.

So how many users have you signed up so far?

We are in a beta mode currently and we have opened up our website for test trials. We have many test trials in many places all over the world. Cannot disclose the current number of users. We are very excited with their feedback and we will be rolling out additional capabilities soon.

How many mobile VoIP users, using soft clients such as yours, are there worldwide?

The current number of mobile VoIP users is not very large. Dual mode phones are only now being introduced. We have so far seen mostly the WiFi-only phones which are great, however they do not have full roaming capabilities and are limited in a way. We run VoIP over 3G networks as well so we believe that our solution will be perfect for users who already have a data plan and with the access to the internet.

Yes, there are around half a million FMC users worldwide according to our estimates. But I was asking about wireless broadband users that use VoIP softclients. Do you know the number of such users?

No. But that number is still very small. We are yet to see a Skype type phenomenon in the mobile world because broadband usage in wireless segment is very limited.

Who do you think are the main VoIP client providers in mobile VoIP?

That segment is very fragmented.  There are companies that focus on FMC type applications. They tend to work with other vendors. There are companies like ours who go direct to consumers. There are many players who are introducing softclients into the mobile market and mostly in the WiFi environment. But the overall market is still in its infancy. It is still very small but it has a huge potential because of the existing mobile user database worldwide.

What are the advantages of VoIP over Wireless-Broadband over FMC type applications?

We take the approach that users who are using regular phones coming from Nokia and Sony Ericsson and Motorola and others will be able to take advantage of mobile VoIP. If you make specific handsets for specific applications that model will not scale over time. From handsets point of view, I think VoIP over Wireless-Broadband would have an advantage provided there was wireless broadband available ubiquitously.

Will you be offering PSTN termination also?

Our system was developed to give the user the ability and the freedom to choose. We give the user the ability to choose different options, for example, to bring his own handset, service provider, or manufacturer. Currently we are running on Nokia’s handsets and we would like to be able to run it on different hand sets. It has ability to choose any service provider, whether a GSM carrier or a WiFi provider. On top of this connectivity we will be able to use Fring to be in touch with friends. We also give the user freedom on the ability to choose which of the VoIP or wireline provider they want. We also work with Skype and Googletalk and we would like to add more interoperability.

Your website shows PSTN termination option.

Currently, as I mentioned earlier, if the users are Skype users they can use Skype directly from their hand set. We have the philosophy to let the users use other services as well.

Is PSTN termination part of your revenue model?

I think this termination could be one thing that we could do. We are also looking into a partnership program with service providers in order to introduce value added services such as roaming. We would like to give our users a better experience by our partnerships with third parties for value added services.

Your users are able to make Skype out calls. How is that technically possible? Is there a Skype icon within your client software?

We integrated Skype into the Fring experience as we integrated Googletalk. So the users can login to Skype account with the Fring client. They will be available to receive calls and check for various Skype buddies. They can initiate calls there and also the can initiate Skype out calls directly from Fring.

So you use Skype API, but don’t you also compete with them in a way?

There is market and space for many players. There are many flavors that can benefit different users. We have seen that the users would love to get into an aggregated experience. You can use Skype this way or that way and using the other networks as well and the PC. You can have the new sessions in parallel with different services and different clients. However, on the mobile phone it is very tricky. It is difficult to handle even one client there. So we think the value also comes from the ability to run multiple services on one single handset. We are in a way facilitating multiple application usage through our solution.

If we were to encapsulate the benefits of your type of mobile VoIP for consumers in one sentence, what is it that they get?

Mobile VoIP is an opportunity to bring consumers enhanced capabilities on top of the IP connection. It is something that will be very compelling for them.