Interview With MobilityPass International Wireless Broadband!

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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