Now, you can make overseas calls to your loved ones and friends at fraction of the cost. Ringo India has launched in India its first international calling app on Android and iOS platforms and will also be available soon on Windows devices. This app is claimed to deliver high quality and low cost calling. The beauty of this app is that neither the caller nor the receiver require internet connection to make or receive the call. With this app, you can make overseas calls to many countries such as USA, UK, Germany, France, Canada, UAE, Singapore, Thailand and China etc.
Unlike other OTT voice apps, Ringo calls do not use the Internet, Wifi, data or carrier minutes. Making a call using Ringo is identical to making a call through your carrier, in terms of quality, and yet costs 70% lower than standard rates offered by most Telcos. Ringo uses a unique call flow to convert international calls into local calls. For example, when a Ringo user from India contacts someone in the United Kingdom, Ringo will automatically dial out a local call to the Indian user and another local call to the UK user and connect the two over reliable carrier circuits. This process takes hardly 5 to 10 seconds as demonstrated to the media in New Delhi.
As claimed by Ringo India in the press meet, it is quite cheaper to make calls through their app and even cheaper then other apps such as Viber and Skype. We reproduce below comparison of tariff charged by different service providers and other apps including that of Ringo:
Unlike calling cards, Ringo makes paying for international calls incredibly easy. It is very easy to pay for the calls. The users can pre-pay anywhere between Rs. 25 to Rs. 250. Before placing their calls, Ringo checks to see if the users have a sufficient balance. Ringo then deducts from the balance in real time when the customer places a call.
According to Telegeography, in 2012 India originated 20 billion international voice minutes (not counting OTT apps) representing 4% of the global ISD traffic, and making India the 4th largest originator of ISD calls in the world, after USA, UK and Germany. Consumers in Indiaspend well over $2 billion annually in making international calls. Ringo, whose prices are 70% cheaper than Vodafone or Airtel’s and 20% cheaper than Skype or Viber’s for most destinations, will result in huge cost savings for Indian consumers.
Ringo’s launch could not be better timed. There has been heavy debate around recent announcements by carriers and TRAI to chargefor VOIP. Amidst this controversy, Ringo provides a unique international calling solution that does not use VOIP and hence willnever incur these additional costs.
