A few weeks back I talked about marketing wrong versus right. I keep an eye peeled for those that do something right and recognize that as much as doing things wrong. (Remember the One Minute Manager approach?) so looking at David's post, I think that the days of calling cards for some could become a think of the past. Many people buy calling cards as a way of reducing costs or for tracking their calls that they make for certain projects.
David's revelation helps to remind those who have to remember access codes, id's, PIN codes on top of the phone number they are calling that now there is an option.
The pre-paid calling card market is a huge market, and while things like pre-paid cell phones have helped, and now new bypass services like Mint Telecom are on the radar, one has to realize how PhoneGnome keeps it all together for the owner.
Here's how it works. If I have an PhoneGnome and my fiance has a PhoneGnome we call each other using a regular PSTN handset. My PSTN line is connected to the PhoneGnome which is also connected to my Netgear 802.11 a/b/g router. Since her phone number is also registered with PhoneGnome, the call travels over the Internet for FREE. Now, if I call her on her cell and I'm in the Sacramento house the call goes out over PSTN for free, as it's a local call. But if I'm calling her cell from the San Diego house the calls go out over my designated ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider) in my case Junction Networks who I found doing some research last week and learned more about from their CEO. It all works in reverse for her.
While the concept of PhoneGnome is not pure VoIP, it's about phone service and it's more about not changing consumer behavior than any of the VoIP products I've seen. It's about simplification, not complications. And, that's what marketing is about--giving the customer what they want and need! My marketing 101 professor (whom I got the only A from in the class) would be proud I never forgot his lesson from the first day of the class.