Based on the
most current data available from the
US Census Bureau (2003), roughly 14 percent of the US population is European born. In addition more than 100 million Americans can trace their ancestry back to Europe - and a large percentage of them still have relatives who live there.
Looking to capitalize on the fact that many Western Europeans in the US continue to communicate with their friends and relatives “back home,”
GlobalTouch Telecom has introduced a new European VoIP calling plan called SIPTalk Euro. The new service - an extension of GlobalTouch’s popular SIPtalk service - provides subscribers with unlimited, anytime minutes to the US, Canada and 14 Western European countries, as well as unlimited inbound and in-network minutes, for a flat $24.95 per month.
“We are excited to be able to offer our subscribers this exceptional offering,” said Gregory O. Welch, CEO of GlobalTouch Telecom, in a
press release. “It clearly supports our commitment to provide our customers with unsurpassed value and quality of service.”
The plan includes all of the special features that SIPTalk offers, including CallBlast, inbound/outbound fax, softphone and video phone, as well as standard features including call waiting, caller ID, conference calling, voicemail, voicemail to e-mail and 3-way calling. The 14 European countries include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
According to GlobalTouch, SIPTalk, which was launched in October 2004, is now used by “thousands” of residential and small home office customers. Rates for the standard service start at $9.95 per month for 200 minutes of calling anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. The company claims voice quality is as good as traditional phone service.
For resellers, SIPTalk offers Class 5 features (call waiting, call holding, 3-way calling); voice mail with MP3 e-mail and instant messaging notification; T.38 fax compatibility; an available softphone with USB handsets; and CallBlast, the handy “find me, follow me” feature. End users can pick their own telephone number from the SIPTalk Graphical User Interface (GUI). Local numbers are available from virtually anywhere in the US, Canada, the UK and other international markets.
When a customer signs up for the service they receive an analog telephone adapter (ATA) or a SIP handset, softphone or video phone, depending on the service they order. These plug-and-play devices automatically “synch” with the SIPTalk network when they are installed. The service can be used anywhere where broadband access is available.
For business subscribers, GlobalTouch offers SIPTalk Office, which includes 2,000 minutes of calling anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, and SIPTalk Office Plus, which offers unlimited minutes to anywhere in the U.S. and Canada.
GlobalTouch made news earlier this month when it
announced a resale and supply agreement with WorldGate Communications (
News -
Alert), a provider of personal video phones. The deal enables GlobalTouch to distribute WorldGate’s Ojo and Ojo Shadow personal video phones – a move which will help GlobalTouch to attract new customers and satisfy existing ones. The deal also expands the GlobalTouch’s existing video application offering. Ojo is the first broadband video phone that enables face-to-face, real-time video communication over DSL and cable broadband networks.
For additional information on GlobalTouch Telecom and its products, visit
www.globaltouchtelecom.com.
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Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.
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