Sonim builds a BRIC house

Before merging with Sprint, Nextel Communications' corporate plan in the U.S. largely had been built on the backs of the business users, who tended to produce greater average revenues per user than consumers and have been intensely loyal to the company's signature Direct Connect Push-To-Talk (P2T) service. The company's record for P2T success didn't even suffer much after competitors Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless launched similar services.

Many international markets, by contrast, are P2T greenfields. Sonim Technologies, which makes its business producing a client-server platform targeted at the mobile IP space, is using similar technology as a way to reach what it calls the BRIC (Brazil, India, Russia and China) markets.

“They have better networks than the U.S. because they're all new,” said Bob Plaschke, CEO of Sonim. “There are no analog systems to keep running. Second, they're typically companies that have been formed in the last five years. You find very young very aggressive teams.”

At the same time, Plaschke recognizes that simply mimicking Nextel's plan in other countries would be a disaster. First off, many of the counties the company is targeting don't have the same type of economy as the U.S. Also, the way users communicate in other markets is markedly different than in the U.S., he said.

In some countries, getting a mobile VoIP network up and running is just part of the challenge. Forcing subscribers into U.S.- or Euro-centric user behavior just doesn't work. In remote villages where telephone service is non-existent and literacy rates are low, one of the first services carriers have been launching with the Sonim platform is voice SMS. Using handsets that include a P2T button, users can leave voice messages to each other. The service has been a hit with farmers, Plaschke said.

“You aren't going to have a two-hour discussion with your daughter in Bombay, but you can leave messages enough to do your business,” he said.

In Sonim's case, the company is even helping to develop the handset with a BRIC market user in mind.

Indeed, such projects don't necessarily fall under the altruism label. Because VoIP equipment is so much cheaper than traditional circuit switch gear, Plaschke says it's feasible for a carrier to make a profit with services that are affordable to the general population.

“It's all about the economics of doing voice over packet versus voice over circuit,” he said.