If you’ve ever wanted to have your own mobile phone network, now you can. Sonopia launched today, and it allows anyone to create their own virtual mobile phone network in a couple of minutes (which I promptly did).
Sonopia uses Verizon to handle actual calls and data, and is effectively a reseller of their service. Users who set up a network for their affinity group (sports team, church, school, etc.) will receive 3-8% of the revenues generated from their customers (the percentage increases as the number of customers grows).
Users can choose from a few different phones and calling plans and can co-brand their own website to get people to sign up.
Almost as an afterthought, it seems, Sonopia tacked on social networking features to their site as well. Subscribers can add friends, create a profile, upload pictures and video from their phone, etc.
I came away disappointed in my testing of the site. Design and flow of the signup process isn’t thought through properly, and there is very little information available on the site for people who are thinking of creating a network. As promised, it took me only a couple of minutes to create my own mobile network, but when I was done I had a lot of questions left unanswered. Small groups will be able to guilt/bully some of their members into switching from their existing carrier to Sonopia, but the site needs an overhaul before large number of people will feel comfortable with the service.
The company was founded by Juha Christensen, a Symbian founder and the former head of Microsoft’s mobile division. The company has raised $9 million from venture firms ComVentures and Sevin Rosen.
I agree 100%. The site itself does a horrible job selling the visitor regarding how the service works or the benefits. No mention of the phones themselves, number portability or the rate plans until the user is into the signup process? Maybe there is an opportunity here, but with their current approach they’ll certainly never reach it.
The amount of innovation that is taking place in the communications field is staggering. If we have had even a part of it in the Operating Systems imagine what we might have been capable of doing by now ….
The website definitely needs some tweaks
The idea itself is very cool. Just imagine the opportunities that can be created with this sort of thing in developing markets! Talk about empowerment…
It’ll be really nice when a different startup executes it well…
(9 million in VC funding for a site like this?!? Wow… Who do I talk to about getting a piece of that for helping with the re-design?
I think it’ll take more than a website to make it worthwhile, but who knows. Maybe on a small scale for charities and things, but most people, if they know about the revenue share, will instinctively pull away.
Yeah, Mike, you nailed this one. They need to focus waaaaay more on the customer experience and the UI.
It looks like it was built in the Kiev, because it was.
I think more effort was put into providing the service but very little or none at all on usability and therefore at the end of the day the customer experience wont be very good at all.
But but but the company has raised $9 million from venture firms ComVentures and Sevin Rosen.
Dumbasses around the table !
http://gizmocall.com is much better i guess
How do I know that the World Ocean Federation virtual network is run by the world ocean federation? There is no link to the WOF.
Maybe I should go and start up a RSPCA mobile network and see how many people want to donate their money to the RSPCA - RevShare’s Personal Coffers Association.
Very nice concept but risky. We all know that sooner or later, some clients have problems with their mobile carriers and voice their concerns online sometimes tarnshing the company’s name.
If Sonopia and/or Verizon messes up and the users of my mobile network start airing their frustrations, whose brand will be hit the most? Mine, because my customers are doing business with my company.
On the other hand, 3-8% (and higher) of total revenues seems like a juicy offer. I can think of a few friends and acquintances whose phone bills I’d like a revenue percentage from!
I think Mike and most of the comments so far are a bit unfair. After all, they have just launched and been live for what, one day? The CEO mentions wanting a low burn rate with no marketing and using most of the $9M for building out R&D. In terms of poor customer service, I can’t think of one major carrier that doesn’t *suck* at one time or another. I think people in general accept bad phone service as de rigeur for the industry. Moreover, people also are willing to accept sub-par service and pricing if they believe they are supporting a cause they like. Look at the neverending proliferation of MLM companies, who mostly sell overpriced products that have cheaper equivalents at the store. They work because people buy for reasons other than what web 2.0 pundits believe.
{disclaimer: I neither sell MLM products nor work for Sonopia}
I stopped reading as soon as I saw the company name. This makes me think of mobile service and devices how??
dumb!
The problem is - alot of people ( I would say most) already have cell phones…
- If you could get this on myspace; for groups clubs etc… it could get viral…
- for say - my church had this and I needed a phone I might do it …
- or my soccer team .. Lets say acompany does it - etc…
- then again how can they beat corporate prices already given to my company?
Hey guys, I have a question.
Is there anything that should stop a 35 person company that uses 35 verizon phones to switch to this service and get a 3-8% kickback?
It seems reasonable to me.
I think you guys dont see the potential gold mine here. Its not that different then having one of those authorized retailers you see in the mall, but now you can enter with no risk or overhead. They do need to improve the sites fuggly interface.
Opportunity is unlimited for business model. Marketing would be the bottleneck, and such ugly site won’t help it.
PS> Kiev or India - does not matter where it has been done. Microsoft is 90% immigrants’ based for now and so far doing pretty well…The point is that it has been done with a quick and louzy design of web site, not thought well navigation and etc… - just to get it out - typical Microsoft approach…but Microsoft as a company has partners/distributors/marketing personal to sell hald made product - which , unfortunately, this company does not have such luxury with only 9 mln in the pockets… the start is bad - I would say the future is bad for this company…
I think Sonopia will do very well. They have innovated and yes the UI is not perfect but the game really starts now. It will be a question of how quickly they learn from this rev and how quickly they can get their next rev out.
It’s a great opportunity for the mobile phone industry. In France, we’ve virtual operators (MVNO) with great offers but the historical market is full and increase less than it was é or 3 years ago.
3-8% of total revenues seems like a juicy offer. I can think of a few friends and acquintances whose phone bills I’d like a revenue percentage from!
Maybe there is an opportunity here,
but with their current approach they’ll certainly never reach it.