What you see above is every telecom exec’s nightmare.  Google is stepping up the mobile phone value chain once again and making its own SIMs.

Google may be testing networks in Spain for the possible launch of its own MVNO in the country, based on some photos that have been leaked from an employee working at the company.

It appears and there is little corroborating proof that Google staff are being supplied with dedicated SIM cards that may be running on an MVNO network, or possibly just running on the main networks as normal for testing purposes.

According to one report, the staff are each getting Google branded SIM cards that work on each of the three main networks, but another source with a photo of a phone screen suggests that the networks are identifying the SIM as a dedicated network/MVNO.

A Google branded MVNO would certainly be a dramatic move for the company which has already worried some handset manufacturers with its Motorola Mobility purchase and now a possible attempt to tie handsets and networks into a single package.

Spain heard is first but more European locals will start seeing these soon.  MVNOs have gone the way of the Dodo in the US with Sprint buying Virgin and Boost and others departing the market.

 PART ONE: Michel Poignant is the CEO of Paymotech, a service worth “paying” attention to. A large majority of people on planet Earth have a cell phone, but not everyone has a bank account and credit card. Suzanne Bowen, VP of DIDXchange interviews the astute and gregarious businessman at the beginning of a beautiful spring day in March 2011 on mobile payments and  its universal wallet solution that includes a contactless sticker option. Tap, tap. PIF (paid in full)!

Read on. Click the Listen button on this page to hear the article read to you, OR click to hear the original audio podcast interview between Michel Poignant, CEO of PaymoTech and Suzanne Bowen, Chief Editor of Techistan and VP of DIDX in part one and part two. and …

So how does Paymotech work? Michel states that the current service came originally from two different markets. One is the stored value count … debit bank cards people are using for general purposes such as receiving their payroll. The second is VoIP on mobile SIM card business. Paytoo was a pioneer in both since 2004.

After a few years, some customers for the prepaid card wanted VoIP services and also vice versa, so they started a mix of the two services.

“We started to think of providing services like an incoming phone number from anywhere the client needs even when that phone number is of a city in another country that the client is not currently living in,” states Mr. Poignant. “That is how we came to DIDX.”

Mobile payments, mobile transfers, mobile everything is in the works for Paymotech set of services. The company is an MVNO with services available with roaming in over 190 countries. They decided, why not merge all the services they are providing into one mobile wallet solution.

Why not make money available any time and not just when one wants to make a phone call?

Michel says, “Seventy percent of business in the mobile world is pre-paid. Three billion of them do not have a bank account. It is simply a matter of transferring credit from the user to someone else for anything using the mobile phone, to pay merchants, to make a payment, to have cash access! We offer a real mobile wallet (Paytoo) since November 2009. It was the first in use world-wide.”

This is at least 17 months earlier than Google who recently announced a Google-backed system for mobile payments, expected to be released later in 2011.

Paymotech has millions of users already in Asia, Middle East, Africa, Australia, and Europe and the service is catching fast in major cities of the Americas. It is not plan, not a dream. It is a real product already marketed, in use and very popular. In fact, for example, it is extremely popular in Japan in a time when services like PaymoTech’s are very important.

One guy in New York City has a Paytoo account. He has a flexible choice of using PaymoTech mobile telecom services of that of another third party. If he uses PaymoTech, he has one bill, but even if he uses another telecom, he goes to a store to make a deposit of $500 to his account. This transaction typically cost four dollars.

Now, his Paytoo account has a $500 balance. Michel adds, “Ah, I need to add $25 to my mother’s telecom service account in Mexico City. I can do this anywhere, whether I am on the street, at home, at a football game, I can do this transaction on my mobile phone via an SMS. Maybe I need to send another $50 to my daughter who is doing her masters’ studies in China. Next, let’s buy some groceries at Publix. I use my prepaid card for everything. I don’t waste time in lines to top up my card. I don’t spend $20 – $50 just to transfer money to people and organizations I need to pay.

Now, what is a contactless sticker? Paytoo’s offers end users a fast, convenient and fun way to pay. The sticker is equipped with a contactless application, allowing it to be used as a normal payment card at any point of sale terminal accepting contactless. Payments are made by placing the smart sticker a few inches away from the contactless reader. Simply “tap and go.” Just tap the device. No credit card needed.

The Paytoo “contactless sticker” is used in NYC, Japan, Australia, and more. Nepal is one of the new areas where the service is very popular. It is an undeveloped country where normal transaction fees make it not worth to even use a credit card or transfer funds via standard methods.

For a Nepalese person to receive money in standard methods, she will get a notice that her family in the USA, for example, is sending home $200 to the capital of Nepal because her village does not have a money transfer station. She has to take a train to the capital city. A big hassle which takes about 3 days round trip. In addition, typically in Nepal if someone sends you $200, you will actually receive $150 after fees.

On the other hand, with a Paytoo account, even in Nepal, will have a telecom connection on her cell phone. In fact, 35 million people in Nepal have an account on their hand set. She will receive the money through her Paytoo account via the mobile telecom network. She can use the money for things she needs at any store with the POS service compatible with Paytoo. She saves three days’ time and fees.

Michel Poignant mentions his visit with the Minister of Senegal who told him that, “We receive every month, 600 million francs. Ten to fifteen percent are spent in fees. These are not going inside our economy … The people who do not have any money are paying the most for their services.”

“You can avoid standing in lines because you have a bank account, a credit card, but the people who don’t … tend to be the ones who are paying the most for all of us,” adds Mr. Poignant.

“We need to start providing services that are fairer to all people of this planet.

Paytoo offers to Point of Sale device and the contactless sticker that integrate with the contactless technology.

According to a survey done in January 2008, there is a significant consumer interest for the sticker concept. Consumers rated “ convenience” and “easy to use” as the most important benefits of the sticker, followed closely by the ability to experience a “ faster checkout”. Moreover the contactless sticker concept has wide appeal across demographic groups, without much significant difference in demand by age, gender or income. For the first time consumers will not fear to lose cash or their card and leave their wallet at home.

Learn more about Paytoo Mobile Wallet at http://www.paymotech.com/en/services/paytoo.html.

PART TWO :

In part two, Michel Poignant, CEO of Paymotech who, as an MVNO, offer the complete Paytoo mobile VoIP, mobile international phone numbers and mobile payments answer for a complete lifestyle communications and exchange technology and service with contactless feature even … and POS at least 17 months earlier than the world’s technology giant Google.

Michel says, “We give the mobile wallet to our wholesale clients so that they can integrate the technology into their SIM card. If a bank wants to offer a mobile wallet or mobile payments system, we do the same. We look to integrate easily with existing services after you are connected to the cloud of PaymoTech. Every partner is automatically connected with other partners that we have.”

Even huge companies with the most popular brand names one can think of right now … are talking with PaymoTech about investing and/or partnering because the company has connections where they do not for SIM, voice, international phone numbers, payment exchange, contactless technology, and POS device and services.

Companies can spend time and money to re-invent the wheel or work with the pioneer, the successful veteran PaymoTech and its Paytoo wallet. Mr. Poignant is offering invitation to other parties to sign on and be immediately connected with the current list of countries now on board.

“We can implement the payroll payment through Paytoo, voice over IP services on mobile, international phone numbers, and/or other combinations. We are working on a new share revenue program for some time in second quarter 2011,” says Michel. “We do not sell the technology. We give it. Only payment needed is for develpment. Comply with necessary regulations.”

More discussion takes place about complying with regulations and the shared concern and certain measures that DIDX, PaymoTech and other companies have regarding the same such as in money laundering and tax evasion. Michel explains how they monitor which is smartly done via its combined mobile voice and mobile payment services.

Watch the video about Paytoo. Visit http://www.paymotech.com.

Music writers, entertainers and producers will want to check out a new project they have launched in 2011 that will integrate beautifully with their MVNO mobile voice and mobile wallet … music social network for those who want to sell music to the three billion people who do not have a bank account. Visit http://www.muzicol.com/. 

Customer, provider or partner, no matter who you are, go to http://www.paytoo.com. Click on Create an Account which will take you to https://www.paytoo.com/members/signup where you can sign up now! Check the mobile coverage area, mobile rates, SMS callback rates, voIP rates, and availability of international phone numbers. PaymoTech has signed agreement with over a 1000 USA stores and began massive new deployment as of March 22, 2011.

ITEXPO East will be like a candy store of every technological flavor you could wish for: 4G Wireless Evolution, M2M, SmartGrid, SocialCRM, Cloud Communications, SIP Forum, VIPeering, Business Video and more! It is scheduled in

Watch a great example, of the excitement, such as Andy Goodwin of Vitelity at ITEXPO in 2010 regarding his SMS service on DIDs, wrapping the user experience around the SMS product. No need to even code in API. He was showing the service on an iPad!

Listen to Steven Johnson of Ingate about the free SIP Trunking certificate, workshop and instruction on the DIDX podcast.

ITEXPO East is the conference in the first quarter of 2011 that providers, operators, developers, educators, and other types of companies who are in the space of the colocated events at ITEXPO east … SHOULD exhibit. Schedule your booth now and be included in many networking opportunities and great treatment by the TMC team. Thousands will be participating in ITEXPO from government and private markets, wholesale provision, reseller channels, early adopters … it is a grand mix! The type that fosters real business development, learning and new opportunities for everyone.

Watch team members from many groups talk about what they are doing at ITEXPO such as the Los Angeles Police Department, CEO of VoIPSwitch, CTO of MobileMax, Cisco and IPTV, Jeremy Wadhams on Asterisk and Yahoo!, GotVoice Vice President, and a giving a car away at ITEXPO.

Techistan is a press agent for ITEXPO. Visit the complete list of media partners, corporate sponsors at http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference/east-11/exhibitors/e11-event-sponsors.htm. Sign up to participate at http://www.itexpo.com.

Yahya Sabir: Hi my name is Yahya Sabir from Techistan magazine and I’m with Mr. Sridhar T. Pai, CEO of Tonse Telecom, so sir tell us about your company.

Before a smart business decides which conferences to exhibit at, the organization will want to know what kind of people and businesses attend that conference? Should you stay or should you go?

In the case of 4GWorld, scheduled October 18-21, 2010 in Chicago, IL, there are 16 main categories of visitors who are ready to gather information, buy services, and develop business.

A quiz … guess the objectives of each? Respond to as many as you can with a post on your blog and link back to this article on Techistan.

Follow up with a Twitter DM or regular tweet to @suzannebowen and @techistan with your blog link of answers. We will link back to each blog that participates.

Sign up at http://www.4gworld.com and tell them, Techistan sent you.

Register for any of show pass types and see more than 200 companies showcase wireless applications, solutions, hardware and software on the CTIA Enterprise & Applications™ 2010 exhibit floor this October.

Technology Pavilions:
Multiple technology pavilions will highlight emerging market segments, introduce new industry players and support one-stop-shopping for mobile business products and services.
Launch Pad — introducing start-up companies looking to break into the competitive mobile marketplace.

M2M Zone — offering wireless Machine-to-Machine communications products and services.

mCommerce Pavilion — demonstrating mobile solutions for payments, banking, remittance and emerging mobile money services.

Mobile Applications Pavilion — showcasing the latest mobile platforms, content, social networking, and application delivery solutions.

Mobile Cloud Computing Pavilion — displaying resources from public and private clouds to utility and hybrid cloud services.

Telecom Council Innovation Showcase — promoting innovative entrepreneurs and start-up companies through live demos and presentations.

Wireless Dealer Expo — providing a one-stop-shop for wireless retail buyers and suppliers.

Wireless Health Pavilion — offering the latest products, applications and network management solutions that empower healthcare providers and enhance communication among health professionals and patients

After recording this interview, Suzanne Bowen had an idea that Max and Jonathan should consider adding another service where they assist Canadian companies to merge with USA companies, especially where each fills service and resource gaps of each other. Download the audio podcast to your mp3 player, netbook, Droid, iPhone or whatever you use and listen too! It’s on iTunes too.

VoIP Merger 2010 Comtel-Networks and AstraQom

Suzanne Bowen: Today we have with us the President of AstraQom Jonathan Sowah and also Max Glucksmann who is the new Chief Technical Officer. Welcome to both of you. Happy to have you with us.
Jonathan Sowah: Thank you very much. Hello!

Max Glucksmann: Hi Suzanne.
Suzanne Bowen: Astraqom is such a cool sounding name. Would tell us about the startup of AstraQom and the basic events that have led to this point?
Jonathan Sowah: The name AstraQom reflects the fact that we are based in Quebec. There’s a little French influence. Astra exudes a feeling of universal. The “Q” in our name stands for our Quebec origin. The “Qom” shows the company is focused on communications.
We started a little over a year ago. My family and I immigrated here from England and saw the huge potential in the telecom sector. AstraQom was first set up with the idea of providing a customized dialup Internet service. Then we added DSL.
At that point,  Max and I started working together but from separate companies, to develop some PBX solutions. One thing led to another to where we stand now.
In Canada we are providing DSL services to four provinces (Ontario, Quebec, B.C., and Alberta) and also to 37 states in the USA. Some of our business for voice is also in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Suzanne Bowen: I like the idea of the “Q.” I’m looking at your website and see you provide several different types of services and have grown fast in the last year.
Would you share some about the good but also tough times? Maybe an anecdote?
Jonathan Sowah: Chuckles… no matter what we have had to keep our focus straight. People are used to the Big Boys. By the time I was born, Bell was already there. What happens after a while when you are new but good, then the customers begin to realize you know what you are doing. They will worry that you are a “fly by night” sort of business.
Those who own the market want to bully you. In the beginning we got a message from one of the big players that I should take my money elsewhere.
This was our biggest challenge.
Suzanne Bowen: Because you are smaller and more lithe, you are a position to meet the specific needs of your clients and to provide better, more focused customer service than the bigger guys. So maybe no wonder they tell the little guys, “Oh, go away.”
(Interviewer and interviewees share some laughter.)
Suzanne Bowen: Would you share with us some information about your plans for the future?
Jonathan Sowah: Sure, in fact, Max, do you want to take this one?
Max Glucksmann: Regarding the subject of reaching the customers… we handle each customer as individual basis and unique needs. PBX, IVRs, specific applications… we want them to be completely satisified. We have a point of advantage there.
Suzanne Bowen: Would you share more about your plans and services available?
Max Glucksmann: We are developing PBX services like conference rooms, ring groups, traditional phone service. We have a complete management system online where the users can take advantage, much better than a traditional phone company. We’ve recently added a new market.
We can’t share much about it yet, but it will be an integration of some special services we ave not shared before with wireless operators and voice over IP platforms.  We won’t be connecting over traditional SIP dialers, WiFi, or 3G connections. We’ll be directly connected to with the wireless operator dialplan. We’re looking at unified communications.
Jonathan Sowah: Do you also want to quickly mention the Conference Room System we are planning to use the DIDX platform for local access numbers? 
Max Glucksmann: We will have new features because of using DIDX phone numbers. We can have different people from different countries call in. This will be a local phone call for each person calling in. We’ll be able to record the conferences, store the recordings online through our GUIs which are using right now for this podcast.
Suzanne Bowen: Wow, the quality that I am hearing is very good. Recently AstraQom participated in CommunicAsia in Singapore, a conference that our DIDXchange and Techistan were a media partner and press agent for.  What plans do you have for other ways to meet face to face with your current and potential clients, partners and vendors? I know you will be at ITEXPO West in L.A.
 

Jonathan Sowah: We plan to return to CommunicAsia next year. It is important for us to let people know what we are doing.  We like the way DIDX does this. You guys have good taste in selecting the right events to share with your membership. We plan to participate in as many as you have partnered with as possible.
Suzanne Bowen: I appreciate the compliments. We do work hard at DIDX to …
Jonathan Sowah: That’s very true.
Suzanne Bowen: Share conferences that we think will be really good for our DIDX members and the IP communications industry in general. I also appreciate your mentioning that you use DIDX DIDs for this conference and your conferencing solutions.   We look forward to having you work with us at conferences and know that is as important to meet face to face as it is in voice, video, IM and email. It builds more of a trust.
Suzanne Bowen: How can potential vendors, resellers, and customers contact you? But first, is there anything else you would like to share?
Jonathan Sowah: Let’s talk about how Comtel-Networks and AstraQom ended up merging.
Suzanne Bowen: I think is a pretty exciting story.
Jonathan Sowah: I got to know Max while discussing collaboration in the “phone sector.” He’s a good man, smart, hard-working, very focused guy. As time progressed, it became easier for us to find more and more common ground. The vision became virtually the same. So, one day I popped the question. He accepted it. For small startups like ours, the idea of going alone is very tempting, but when you find another company that shares a vision and finds opportunity to work together, and you see a win-win relationship…
That’s what we have. We have created a situation where AstraQom is in Canada and the USA. For us it was the best decision.
Max, do you want to comment on this?
Max Glucksmann: First, I want to thank you for the good words. AstraQom and Comtel-Networks is a good thing because like my company Comtel-Networks was more specialized in the phone sector and Jonathan brought his extensive background in other complimentary services like VPS systems, dialup connections, and DSL. We complemented each other well. Since we’ve been working together, everything is flowing more smoothly. I am grateful that we achieved the merger.
Suzanne Bowen: I think it is a superb combination. Some people have heard me say, “Don’t try to beat your competition that you admire. Buy them.” I am sort of joking but not really.
I see something else here. Something else you guys bring together is fluent spoken, written, and comprehension of French, Spanish, and English. That is a huge advantage you now have.
How about your website address and what are the best ways for listeners to contact you?
Jonathan Sowah: Let’s start with www.astraqom.com, www.comtel-pbx.com, www.comtel-networks.com. Contact us on phone in Canada at 1-819-306-0701, especially if you prefer to speak in English or French or our USA phone at 1-954-324-2626 if you prefer to speak in English and/or Spanish.
Suzanne Bowen: Really appreciate your taking the time to share about AstraQom, its history, interesting story of the good and tough times, your plans, the services, conferences we can find you at, and the exciting news about Comtel and AstraQom merging, a dream that many IP communications startups and entrepreneurs dream of.
Contact AstraQom at http://www.astraqom.com! Thank you to Jonathan and Max.

What will you not get with Red Pocket Mobile? No long distance charges to nationwide USA, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico City. No contracts, no credit checks, and no monthly bills.

The company smartly provides customer service in English, Spanish, Chinese and Tagalog. Spend as little as $10 per month for service.

Red Pocket Mobile, in business four years, is an MVNO. An MVNO is a mobile virtual network operator. It is a company that buys network capacity from a network operator in order to offer its own branded mobile subscriptions and value-added services to a special niche such as gaming, lifestyle, or geographical location.

Red Pocket Mobile, a sponsor of PTC 2010, specializes in serving the global Asian community who quite often are students, tourists, expats, and traveling businesspeople.

Techistan and DIDX team interviewed Joshua Gordon the president of Red Pocket Mobile during PTC 2010. Red Pocket is looking for carrier partners from the Asia-Pacific who are interested in having retail distribution in the USA.

Noreen Rucinski, one of the interviewers showed a Red Pocket Mobile SIM card that came with the PTC tote bags. Joshua Gordon explained how it works. Use it in any unlocked GSM phone that works in the USA while in the USA. He explains the difference between locked and unlocked phones. Generally phones from outside the USA are unlocked with tri-band or quad-band.

Visit http://www.redpocketmobile.com, email ptc@redpocketmobile.com, or call 1-888-993-3888.

Girlfriends

On November 3, 2008, an IP communications company team member noted that out of five of her best girl friends, three had gotten rid of their landline phones. One was using Verizon on a Blackberry Curve. One was using T-Mobile. Another AT&T on a Nokia E61i like she was. The first was not interested yet in using mobile VoIP. She wanted to check out the first friend’s Blackberry to see if it was capable even, never got to it. The second two were using Truphone, fring, and checking out Nimbuzz since her blog post on comparing mobile VoIP in October 2008.

Today, I am reading Yankee Group’s 2010 predictions From Crisis to Opportunity. Number one states, “Cord-cutting will double yet again in 2010. Consumers will continue to drop land-line phone service in favor of mobile, and mobile broadband replacement will accelerate.”

Annual reviews of DIDX statistics, show a larger and larger percentage of new members to buy and/or sell DID phone numbers who were wireless operators, MVNOs, etc.

In the July 15, 2009 interview by TMC with me Suzanne Bowen, the word “mobile” was mentioned at least four times.

1. RT: What’s the strongest segment in the communications industry?

DM and SB: With Dee’s background in medical informatics, she believes very much that software-driven unified communications, especially with wireless applications, are the communications industry winners. This is as opposed to traditional hardware-centric products. Why are smartphones from Nokia and the iphone so popular? Suzanne believes that people, in general, need to save time and money in as mobile and flexible a manner as possible. Any service or software or research that contributes to making communications simpler, more practical, flexible, mobile, more easily accessible by anyone, anywhere, anytime is assured of a strong position in the industry today.

2. RT: What device or devices do you use, and what do you wish you used?

DM and SB: Depends on what you mean by devices, but … I Suzanne use an Linux Ubuntu (News – Alert) Asus netbook and Nokia e61i in any situation where I have to be extremely mobile. I use my Nokia and my Toshiba Portege R600-S4202 laptop otherwise. I’m also spoiled by my classic ipod for listening to music and Geekspeak.org, Voip Users Conference, and FreshAir podcasts. I have many other gadgets that I use occasionally and am open to trying as I have time.

3. RT: I understand you are exhibiting Sept. 1 to 3 at ITEXPO West in Los Angeles. What will you show there? Describe the companies or people who should come to your exhibit.

DM and SB: The DIDXchange booth will include suppliers and clients of DIDX who will share with booth visitors in English Russian, and Spanish how consumers, SMBs, government agencies, wholesale carriers, mobile operators and more can leverage direct inward dialing for increase revenue, market, mash-up businesses as well as decrease of customer churn. We will be ready to help entrepreneurs rebrand a local presence virtual phone number business that we host. Our DIDX members will be at the booth to give live testimonials (praise) and case studies (the good, the bad, and the ugly). Booth visitors will be to start selling DID (phone numbers), buying DID phone numbers from 60 countries, sign up for services or to start a business immediately and even get a free Ohio, USA phone number to start using right away.

Find Alessandro Morelli on his website is morel.li and his Twitter area to follow. After reading his work, discussion, interests … it was a “must interview” discovery! Morelli helped set up the network of Italy’s second largest mobile company Omnitel which was acquired by Vodafone. The power of mobile anything has always been Alessandro’s passion.

Come back soon to listen to part II Alessandro Morelli, SAAS and MVNO Startup Assistance. We will soon have word for word transcript of Techistan and DIDX podcasts.