Ringo, a low cost calling app, is ready to eat into Indian telecom operators’ revenue with its lucrative tariff plans. The company is now offering local and STD call anywhere in the country for as low as Rs. 0.19 per minute.
Ringo made its debut last year globally and is different from other existing VOIP services like Viber, Skype, WhatsApp and Hike. While all these aforementioned services depend upon reliable internet connectivity at both caller and receiver end, Ringo does things a bit differently.
As per the official website, instead of going on VOIP route, the company directly connects the call to the recipients using its local exchanges. Suppose you call your friend in USA, Ringo will connect your call to their exchange in India and from a similar facility in USA, they will call your friend and then connect both. This way, you will incur only local call tariffs. Ringo uses telephone networks instead of phone data or the Internet for a phone call, and thus offers superior calling experience, without any call drops.
Unlike mainstream telecom operators like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea charge close to Rs. 1.20 per minute for STD calls, and about Rs. 0.40 per minute with any tariff cutter plan. Ringo it is 90 percent cheaper than most telecom carriers and about 25 percent cheaper than most popular calling apps. The company is running a promotion campaign in which it is offering 50 minutes free calling to every new user.
“Our vision has been to make calling across the globe simple, seamless and low-cost for the masses. Our local calling service is not only the cheapest in India right now, but it is also free of typical telecom-related hassles such as STD charges and differential pricing,” said Bhavin Turakhia, CEO and Founder of Ringo. “In a country where 3G penetration is not fairly high throughout, we also have a strong edge over Internet telephony apps, as Ringo calls do not use data, and are comparable in price.”
Ringo is available on across three leading mobile platforms – iOS, Android and Windows.
If you have tried it before, share your Ringo experience with us by posting your comments below.
