HOLMDEL, N.J., April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --Many Americans traveling abroad have suffered the painful experience of returning home to a bill for hefty international cellular roaming charges. Fifty percent of global international travelers don't even use voice services1 for fear of those dreaded high roaming costs. Today, Vonage introduces ReachMe Roaming', a patented feature of its Vonage Mobile App® that allows U.S. travelers to receive free2 incoming calls to their existing cell phone numbers when connected to Wi-Fi anywhere in the world.
With ReachMe Roaming, family, friends and business associates simply call the traveler's cell number to connect. There is no need to remember additional access numbers or provide a new phone number. U.S. customers can also make free calls back to the U.S., allowing them to enjoy seamless, two-way communication at no cost while traveling abroad. Vonage has been granted three patents on ReachMe Roaming by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
"At Vonage, we are constantly innovating to meet consumer needs and address communications challenges," said Grady Leno, Vice President of Product Management, Mobile Services. "We were among the first to provide a solution to roaming fees on calls made by international travelers back to the U.S. Now, we have eliminated roaming fees on calls received by U.S. travelers while abroad, providing them with a complete solution."
Leno continued, "The ReachMe Roaming feature puts U.S. travelers in charge of roaming costs. Once activated, friends and family can reach travelers by simply dialing their cell phone numbers from any phone; callers don't even need the Vonage Mobile App. All inbound calls to the traveler will ring within the app over Wi-Fi. This new feature, combined with Vonage Mobile's free calling to any U.S. destination, allows U.S. travelers to remain in touch without the fear of coming home to a huge cell phone bill."
How it Works
The feature is easy to turn on when traveling. Simply select "ReachMe Roaming" from the app's settings to activate the service. U.S. travelers can use the feature for free in any country where a Wi-Fi connection is available.
When someone calls the traveler's cell phone number, Vonage Mobile seamlessly delivers the call in the app. If the app user is unavailable or outside a Wi-Fi area, missed calls go directly to Vonage Mobile voicemail where the caller can leave audio or video voicemails that are delivered once the user is back on Wi-Fi. The ReachMe Roaming feature can also be used over 3G/4G; however, data charges from the carrier may apply.
ReachMe Roaming is currently available in the U.S. for Android' users who have service with GSM carriers3. The Company is exploring expanding this service to additional carriers, countries and operating systems. Current app users who qualify simply update their Vonage Mobile App to utilize the feature; new users can download the app directly from Google Play or from the Vonage Mobile website, www.vonagemobile.com.
About the Vonage Mobile App
Vonage Mobile is a free app for iPhone® and Android devices. Vonage continues to provide consumers the most popular features of mobile communications in a single, easy-to-use app, offering free voice and video calls, texting, and video and photo sharing between Vonage Mobile users worldwide. In addition, Vonage Mobile's rates are at least 70 percent less than standard international rates charged by major U.S. mobile carriers4. And now, with ReachMe Roaming, U.S. Android users with service from GSM carriers can receive calls for free from the U.S. anywhere there is a Wi-Fi connection. For more information, go to www.vonagemobile.com.
1 Source: Syniverse and Informa Telecoms & Media 2012 |
2 Vonage is offering the ReachMe Roaming feature for free for a limited time. |
3 Currently available to Android users who have AT&T® and T-Mobile® service |
4 Based on calling rates to the top 50 most-called countries |
About Vonage
Vonage (NYSE: VG) is a leading provider of communications services connecting individuals through cloud-connected devices worldwide, with approximately 2.5 million subscriber lines. Vonage provides a robust suite of feature-rich, affordable residential and business communication solutions that offer flexibility, portability and ease-of-use for both landline and mobile phones. Vonage's residential service is sold on the web (www.vonage.com) and through telesales and regional and national retailers, and its business service is sold through Vonage Business Solutions (www.vonagebusiness.com) telesales and channel partners.
Vonage Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey. Vonage® is a registered trademark of Vonage Marketing LLC, owned by Vonage America Inc. To follow Vonage on Twitter, please visit www.twitter.com/vonage. To become a fan on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/vonage. To subscribe onYouTube, visit www.youtube.com/vonage.
SOURCE Vonage
