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Zangi - ambitious telecommunication project of Armenian BeInteractive
Below is ArmInfo's exclusive interview with Vahram Martirosyan, CEO of
BeInteractive
by Samvel Sarksyan
arminfo
Saturday, October 20, 14:30
In mid November, BeInteractive IT Company (Armenia) will launch Zangi
("Call") next generation telecommunication system, that enables the
system users to enjoy free calls and instant messaging via smartphones
that are working on multiple platforms such as iOS, Android OS,
Symbian, Blackberry and Windows PC. Vahram Martirosyan, CEO of
BeInteractive, tells about the system and the company's plans in an
exclusive interview with ArmInfo.
Mr. Martirosyan, what are the advantages of Zangi?
Zangi is a new generation telecommunication system that enables people
to communicate like if they were subscribers of the same mobile
network in the same country. The project has been developed for
already two years.
Zangi liquidates the ideas of roaming and borders. Zangi users
communicate as free as in Internet i.e. they do not pay for using an
U.S. Internet resource or any special services. Zangi subscribers can
make free calls to any direction in the world.
There are very few operators in the world that use such systems. These
are Fring and ooVoo (Israel) that companies already have 10 million
and 40 million subscribers, respectively, in the U.S. market; Viber
and Tango (USA), Movistar (Spain) that is a leading ads provider, and
Forfone (Austria). All these new generation operators develop very
rapidly and attract several millions of subscribers monthly as they
provide very cheap and comfortable services.
Due to new technologies, this system offers video calls and instant
messaging, file sharing, screen sharing for free or at extremely low
tariffs.
One of our solutions on Facebook is live video. To organize live video
TV companies need special technologies: cameras, broadcasting
channels, while Zangi enables any Facebook user to organize live video
on his profile for all his friends without any special devices. What
they need is a web camera and Internet.
Moreover, Zangi offers video conferences free of charge, while this
service is paid on Skype. Znangi free video conferences will be
available already this winter.
What are the components of the Zangi system?
The system is a complex of many solutions (including server solutions)
and own software that our engineers had developed for two years. I'd
like to outline the system of registration on the basis of mobile
numbers in all countries. After a subscriber enters his mobile number
to register on Zangi website, Zangi sends an SMS with "pin code" to
activate his account. ZANGI PIN is required to enable a Zangi
subscriber to communicate with any other Zangi subscribers in the
world free of charge using any mobile or Internet device, social media
etc. Zangi Pin is a soft SIM.
Zangi uses VoIP technology, but unlike Skype, on Zangi one can make
calls on the principles of GSM operator and there are no such ideas as
online, offline or a nick. It has become possible due to a number of
innovative solutions Zangi will patent in the USA and Europe. For
instance, BeInteractive has developed a technology of video and voice
transfer for a very low bandwidth speed. We are going to order
comparative testing of our technology and similar services of other
provides of the new generation.
Low Internet traffic leads to noise waives during voice and video
calls provided by other providers, while Zangi needs just 14kb/sec
bandwidth for permanent high-quality voice and video transfer instead
of usual 40-50kb/sec.
Another advantage of Zangi is that it needs no expensive equipment. A
Zangi subscriber can make video calls directly from the system's
website, from Flash devices without installing software. Already this
winter Zangi calls will become accessible also for the holders of the
devices that support HTML5.
What about the calls from the Zangi system to the numbers that are not
on Zangi?
Zangi subscribers can call to everyone who are not on Zangi at
extremely low rates. You can make sure of that studying the tariffs
for the calls to the networks of all the GSM operators worldwide.
Moreover, incoming calls will be absolutely free for Zangi
subscribers.
The first income item of Zangi will be the payments for incoming and
outcoming calls outside Zangi network exclusive of the traffic costs.
In future, these calls will become cheaper. Outcoming calls inside
Armenia will cost nearly 80drams/min (we have leased the line from a
Canadian operator), while the calls to Europe and USA are much
cheaper. In future we are going to make leasing contracts with the
international operators in Armenia and the calls outside Zangi network
in Armenia will fall in price 4fold alongside with the international
calls.
Another income item will be Zangi-meida services that enables user to
watch, for example, their favorite film while traveling. Subscription
for that service will not be expensive - just 1,000-2.000 drams/month.
To provide such services operators often need to lay fiber-optic
cables, install equipment, while Zangi will need just software
solutions and our service will be available not only on smarthpohnes,
but also on PC and smart-TVs. We have contracts with several travel
agencies and companies operating in other sectors for the use of Zangi
for commercial purposes. There is similar cooperation with the
companies in Egypt, UAE and Canada.
Do you plan sale of a patent?
No. If you mean attraction of investments, we may make an IPO for
instance on the New York Stock Exchange. However, before that we will
need to overcome the first stage of Zangi's establishment that implies
marketing surveys, attraction of several hundreds or even a million of
subscribers. Only after that we will need big investments.
Do you plan to provide services worldwide?
So far, we have no such possibilities. For instance, Tango started
its activity with a capital of $60 million, while we hadn't even
$6,000. So, to attract the minimum necessary number of subscribers we
have to thoroughly develop marketing policy and work with the market
segment in abroad. We think we will have 500,000 subscribers in the
spring of 2013.
Thus, BeInteractive may become one of the few Armenian IT-companies to
issue its own final product...
We launched Zangi project two years ago well aware that it is
realization of own ideas that can bring the largest add value. So, we
needed to earn money and the easiest way to do that was fulfillment of
outsourcing orders.
If the government and local companies that pursue modernization
ordered more products form local IT-companies, our IT-market would
grow stronger and enter the foreign market. The government should
create such mechanisms that would boost consumption of local
IT-products. Many large companies developed on the given scheme:
Facebook, Skype, Nokia, Ericsson. Some of those companies can be
considered a state project. An IT company is created on the basis of
an innovative idea, a technological development or a business idea. In
the case of Zangi, we have all the three components. I think that the
government must pay more attention to such companies as BeInteractive,
because such companies may growth very rapidly and make quite tangible
contribution to GDP after a while.
Thank you!
From: Baghdasarian
Below is ArmInfo's exclusive interview with Vahram Martirosyan, CEO of
BeInteractive
by Samvel Sarksyan
arminfo
Saturday, October 20, 14:30
In mid November, BeInteractive IT Company (Armenia) will launch Zangi
("Call") next generation telecommunication system, that enables the
system users to enjoy free calls and instant messaging via smartphones
that are working on multiple platforms such as iOS, Android OS,
Symbian, Blackberry and Windows PC. Vahram Martirosyan, CEO of
BeInteractive, tells about the system and the company's plans in an
exclusive interview with ArmInfo.
Mr. Martirosyan, what are the advantages of Zangi?
Zangi is a new generation telecommunication system that enables people
to communicate like if they were subscribers of the same mobile
network in the same country. The project has been developed for
already two years.
Zangi liquidates the ideas of roaming and borders. Zangi users
communicate as free as in Internet i.e. they do not pay for using an
U.S. Internet resource or any special services. Zangi subscribers can
make free calls to any direction in the world.
There are very few operators in the world that use such systems. These
are Fring and ooVoo (Israel) that companies already have 10 million
and 40 million subscribers, respectively, in the U.S. market; Viber
and Tango (USA), Movistar (Spain) that is a leading ads provider, and
Forfone (Austria). All these new generation operators develop very
rapidly and attract several millions of subscribers monthly as they
provide very cheap and comfortable services.
Due to new technologies, this system offers video calls and instant
messaging, file sharing, screen sharing for free or at extremely low
tariffs.
One of our solutions on Facebook is live video. To organize live video
TV companies need special technologies: cameras, broadcasting
channels, while Zangi enables any Facebook user to organize live video
on his profile for all his friends without any special devices. What
they need is a web camera and Internet.
Moreover, Zangi offers video conferences free of charge, while this
service is paid on Skype. Znangi free video conferences will be
available already this winter.
What are the components of the Zangi system?
The system is a complex of many solutions (including server solutions)
and own software that our engineers had developed for two years. I'd
like to outline the system of registration on the basis of mobile
numbers in all countries. After a subscriber enters his mobile number
to register on Zangi website, Zangi sends an SMS with "pin code" to
activate his account. ZANGI PIN is required to enable a Zangi
subscriber to communicate with any other Zangi subscribers in the
world free of charge using any mobile or Internet device, social media
etc. Zangi Pin is a soft SIM.
Zangi uses VoIP technology, but unlike Skype, on Zangi one can make
calls on the principles of GSM operator and there are no such ideas as
online, offline or a nick. It has become possible due to a number of
innovative solutions Zangi will patent in the USA and Europe. For
instance, BeInteractive has developed a technology of video and voice
transfer for a very low bandwidth speed. We are going to order
comparative testing of our technology and similar services of other
provides of the new generation.
Low Internet traffic leads to noise waives during voice and video
calls provided by other providers, while Zangi needs just 14kb/sec
bandwidth for permanent high-quality voice and video transfer instead
of usual 40-50kb/sec.
Another advantage of Zangi is that it needs no expensive equipment. A
Zangi subscriber can make video calls directly from the system's
website, from Flash devices without installing software. Already this
winter Zangi calls will become accessible also for the holders of the
devices that support HTML5.
What about the calls from the Zangi system to the numbers that are not
on Zangi?
Zangi subscribers can call to everyone who are not on Zangi at
extremely low rates. You can make sure of that studying the tariffs
for the calls to the networks of all the GSM operators worldwide.
Moreover, incoming calls will be absolutely free for Zangi
subscribers.
The first income item of Zangi will be the payments for incoming and
outcoming calls outside Zangi network exclusive of the traffic costs.
In future, these calls will become cheaper. Outcoming calls inside
Armenia will cost nearly 80drams/min (we have leased the line from a
Canadian operator), while the calls to Europe and USA are much
cheaper. In future we are going to make leasing contracts with the
international operators in Armenia and the calls outside Zangi network
in Armenia will fall in price 4fold alongside with the international
calls.
Another income item will be Zangi-meida services that enables user to
watch, for example, their favorite film while traveling. Subscription
for that service will not be expensive - just 1,000-2.000 drams/month.
To provide such services operators often need to lay fiber-optic
cables, install equipment, while Zangi will need just software
solutions and our service will be available not only on smarthpohnes,
but also on PC and smart-TVs. We have contracts with several travel
agencies and companies operating in other sectors for the use of Zangi
for commercial purposes. There is similar cooperation with the
companies in Egypt, UAE and Canada.
Do you plan sale of a patent?
No. If you mean attraction of investments, we may make an IPO for
instance on the New York Stock Exchange. However, before that we will
need to overcome the first stage of Zangi's establishment that implies
marketing surveys, attraction of several hundreds or even a million of
subscribers. Only after that we will need big investments.
Do you plan to provide services worldwide?
So far, we have no such possibilities. For instance, Tango started
its activity with a capital of $60 million, while we hadn't even
$6,000. So, to attract the minimum necessary number of subscribers we
have to thoroughly develop marketing policy and work with the market
segment in abroad. We think we will have 500,000 subscribers in the
spring of 2013.
Thus, BeInteractive may become one of the few Armenian IT-companies to
issue its own final product...
We launched Zangi project two years ago well aware that it is
realization of own ideas that can bring the largest add value. So, we
needed to earn money and the easiest way to do that was fulfillment of
outsourcing orders.
If the government and local companies that pursue modernization
ordered more products form local IT-companies, our IT-market would
grow stronger and enter the foreign market. The government should
create such mechanisms that would boost consumption of local
IT-products. Many large companies developed on the given scheme:
Facebook, Skype, Nokia, Ericsson. Some of those companies can be
considered a state project. An IT company is created on the basis of
an innovative idea, a technological development or a business idea. In
the case of Zangi, we have all the three components. I think that the
government must pay more attention to such companies as BeInteractive,
because such companies may growth very rapidly and make quite tangible
contribution to GDP after a while.
Thank you!
From: Baghdasarian