The international calling card industry, worth around $7 billion worldwide, will be one of the first targets for PacifiCall, the Silicon Valley-based wireless technology company that recently expanded operations to Honolulu. PacifiCall hits
international calling niche
By Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.comPacifiCall Chief Executive Officer Rob Romero believes he has found a niche that phone card purchasers will respond to once they understand how the system works on mobile phones.
The service costs nothing to install and there are no additional fees other than per-minute rates, Romero said. Once software is installed on the phone, users purchase however many minutes they desire to use and then recharge those minutes using a credit card or PacifiCall prepaid card.
So far the software is compatible with AT&T Wireless, Nextel, Sprint and T-Mobile phones. Others providers will be added in the coming months, Romero said. In Hawaii the PacifiCall software can be installed in mobile phones either through local mobile phone distributor TCA Wireless, in Daiei stores and Shirokiya, or downloaded from PacifiCall's Web site, www.pacificall.net.
The company received an official welcome to the state yesterday from Gov. Linda Lingle and has set up an office on Kapiolani Boulevard. But it will be looking for larger quarters in the near future as it expands and plans to have a staff of about 15 in its Hawaii office, Romero said. The company also has about 10 people in California.
PacifiCall software eliminates the need to purchase calling cards to avoid high calling costs and the nuisance of navigating the calling card system, Romero said.
"Ease of use is the thing. There's nothing extra, no connection or disconnection fees," he said.
Once installed, users can save between 40 percent and 90 percent on international phone rates by using the service, Romero said. Because it operates like an interexchange carrier PacifiCall does not have the expense of maintaining network hardware.
As an incentive, Romero is offering a trial service with the first $10 of international calls free. Following the Hawaii trial, PacifiCall will roll out the service across the United States and internationally.
Other products are in the pipeline, Romero said.
In December, Romero announced plans to move PacifiCall to Hawaii. The state's Act 221 -- which gives tax breaks to qualified high-tech companies -- and Hawaii's proximity to Asia, a major potential market for the company, sealed the deal, Romero said.
The company is looking to raise around $4 million in further venture capital to take its product worldwide and hopes to have the money in place within the next few months, Romero said.