For the past few weeks we've received several e-mails inquiring about Zer01, a new company that it touting a VoIP cell phone service. From what we can tell, CNET readers are intrigued at the prospect, but they're also skeptical about what Zer01 is promising. Though CNET has written about the company only marginally, we've been more than skeptical too.
After debuting in April at the CTIA show, Zer01 quickly garnered analyst praise and several awards. But in the last two months, the company has been dogged by negative press questioning its business relationships and practices, the feasibility of its technology and the veracity of its claims. Citing "ethical questions" Laptop Magazine even rescinded its award from CTIA on August 4.
Indeed, valid questions about Zer01 have been raised. We won't repeat them all here--a simple News search will reveal many results--but we can offer a Q&A covering current developments.
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Three months ago at CTIA in Las Vegas, I visited with Zer01 Mobile, a new VoIP carrier that's promising unlimited voice, messaging, and data for $70 per month. At the time, Zer01 promised a July 1 launch date, but the company didn't say as much in its announcement today.
First off, "launch" is too strong a word. Rather than going live today, the company instead said it was looking for distributors. You can't purchase service or phones on the Zer01 Web site. Instead, you'll have to wait for a distributor to deliver them to you. Zer01 is still gathering distributors, but it has secured Buzzirk Mobile. According to Zero1 spokesperson Ron Dresner, the carrier will be making additional distributor announcements in the coming weeks.
Thursday I told you about the launch of Zer01, a new VoIP carrier. At the time, however, information was slim since the carrier's Web site was out of service, which isn't a great sign. But it's back up and running now, and I got a chance to meet with CEO Benjamin Piilani at CTIA.
First on my list was to ask how the carrier isn't a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), even though it depends on major wireless carriers to operate its services. As Piilani explained it, while MVNOs buy capacity from a carrier and resell it later, Zer01 has its own IP backbone and only uses carrier networks to interconnect or roam.
As I mentioned in my previous post, starting July 1 Zer01 will offer unlimited voice, data and messaging for $69.95. According to Piilani, unlimited will mean just that--you'll even be able to use Zer01 devices for laptop tethering. The price includes all takes and fees less a $30 activation fee. Zer01 will not require a contract or credit check.
Use the HTC Touch Diamond with Zer01.
If it foes live, the $69 price would be cheaper than major carriers. Only T-Mobile charges a bit less with an unlimited plan of $85 per month. The service will be nationwide, though Piilani acknowledged that like a standard wireless carrier, coverage will not be perfect everywhere.
All Zer01 services operate as data, which means that you won't be interacting with a standard cellular network. Also, each Zer01 device gets a fixed IP address and it opens a separate VPN session to the company's servers when placing calls or using data.
Partner carriers will get a share of Zer01's revenues, though Piilani declined to give details on the carriers and the revenue split. Zer01's services will work across the entire GSM spectrum including GPRS, EDGE, UMTS and HSDPA.
At present, Zer01 supports only Windows Mobile smartphones, but it promises to support more operating systems in the future. Also, while it has just five devices in its lineup for now--the Pharos Traveler 117, the Pharos Traveler 127, the HTV TyTN II (aka the HTC Kaiser), the HTC Touch, and the HTC Touch Diamond, you can use your own unlocked smartphone if you wish. All that's needed is a Zer01 SIM card.
After a second pass, I have to admit that Zer01 certainly sounds intriguing. I still wonder how exactly they're going to pull it off, so we'll have to wait and see what happens.
Though other carriers may be consolidating, a new wireless provider made its official debut at CTIA. Zer01 Mobile (yes, that actually is a zero in the name) promises a $69.95-per-month plan for unlimited voice and data service without a contract.
The service, which will launch July 1, will be entirely VoIP-based. Zer01 Mobile Virtual says it's not a Mobile Network Operator (MVNO), but it will be relying on other carriers to support the service. How that's not an MVNO, we're not quite sure.
Zer01 will only support Windows Mobile smartphones. Unfortunately, we're not certain which specific handsets will be available with the service. At the time of this writing, Zer01's Web site was down (not a good sign), but we'll check out the company's booth later today.
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