Nevermind Mobile Web 2.0, you’ve got to admire Irishman Pat Phelan’s 2 recent mobile services: AllFreeCalls.net and now Roam4Free. The former is a complicated workaround
that makes it possible for USA residents to call an Iowa-based phone number and from
there make free international calls. Unfortunately I can’t take advantage of this, as I’m
not a US resident. But it’s a brilliant workaround, even if the way it was set up is
difficult to comprehend. I loved Mike Arrington’s
conclusion: “If anyone has read Catch 22 – this makes about as much sense as
Milo’s scheme where he bought eggs for 7 cents and sold them at a profit for 5
cents.” One of my all-time favorite books — hmmm, perhaps we can call this Mobile 22?
🙂
Not content with AllFreeCalls.net, Pat Phelan has now come up with another mobile Web
hack. This one is called Roam4Free and it enables travelers to buy cheap roaming access
on their mobile phones. This is done via the purchase of a Roam4Free SIM card, which
enables users to receive calls for free in over 65 countries and make calls for “up to
90% discount on standard mobile rates”. You can use this in over 115 countries, claims
the website. What’s more, it works “on most mobile phones and virtually any network
across the globe.” A Roam4free SIM costs €20, which includes €5 of calling
credit.
The one thing Roam4Free appears to lack currently is a US connection, but according to Shel
Israel “Pat vows that the service will expand to include the US and other
countries over the next few months.”
I wonder what is next on Pat’s To Do list – breaking down the walled gardens of Telco
Mobile Web content perhaps? 🙂 Via Web 2.0 Ireland.
