XOX aims to fast-track global marketing with e-horizon JV

• Duo to establish JV company in Sweden to market Voopee to a wider global audience
• Voopee allows operators to provide VoIP, messaging services, including offline comms

MOBILE operator XOX Berhad has signed an agreement with e-horizon, a Swedish developer of mobile soft devices, for a global marketing push for the Voopee mobile soft device.
 
Mobile soft devices allow mobile operators to provide Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) and messaging services, XOX said in a statement, claiming that such services are superior to those provided by Internet-based smartphone calls and messaging services.
 
Unlike traditional communication apps, mobile soft devices work in similar ways to Internet services when the user is connected to the Internet, but enables both online and offline communications.
 
Voopee was jointly developed by XOX and e-horizon. It is a mobile service application that allows smartphone users to have an actual second mobile number, minus the need for an additional phone or SIM card.
 
Unveiled in January, the Voopee service is currently available in Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Malaysia, XOX said in its statement.
 
The agreement between XOX and e-horizon will see the establishment of a joint venture company in Sweden. The new entity will be the launchpad to market Voopee to a wider global audience, going beyond its current South-East Asian base, the company added.
 
“Voopee offers a viable solution to telecommunication players who are concerned that Over-The-Top (OTT) services are eroding revenue,” said XOX group chief executive officer Ng Kok Heng.
 
“Voopee can generate incremental revenue for mobile operators from consumers, aside from voice, text messages and broadband,” he added.
 
The new joint venture company will be well placed geographically and strategically to expand Voopee’s global reach to Europe and America, the two partners said.
 
“Revenue for mobile operators is falling in mature markets as more people opt for Internet communications services through apps,” said e-horizon chairman Pekka Peltola.
 
“European and American mobile operators are especially hard hit when it comes to their traditional revenue stream.
 
“With the formation of the joint venture company based in Sweden, we will take on the role of marketing Voopee to the American and European markets. Our exploratory meetings with mobile operators in these regions have been very positive, with much interest in offering Voopee as a revenue-generating service to their user base,” he claimed.
 
According to XOX’s Ng, mobile applications allow smartphone users to use services such as text, voice, photo messaging and more with a minimal broadband charge, with many using free WiFi wherever available.
 
“This trend is here to stay as existing applications gain more sophistication and new features. However, these applications do not allow cross-application communication. … So we end up with many applications and we are constantly checking our phones for messages on different applications.
 
“Voopee integrates all services, from Voopee to Voopee text messaging, voice bubble messaging, photo messaging, stickers messaging, and will very soon integrate video messaging. The app also allows for multimedia messaging to non-Voopee users,” Ng added.
 
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