TORONTO – Independent telco Iristel said today is has strengthened ties with California-based text+, a service that lets anyone text, talk and share for free or close to free, by making an investment in the company.
Iristel and text+ have a long-standing strategic supplier relationship as Iristel provides phone numbers for text+ in Canada. “The two companies are now further connected through Iristel’s undisclosed financial investment in text+. Also, now text+ is the engine that powers Iristel’s Sugar Mobile and other OTT ‘over-the-top’ initiatives for the Iristel group of companies,” reads the release.
“We support the federal government’s commitment to making wireless service more affordable for Canadians and this investment is another example of Iristel doing our part to offer innovative mobile communications services at fair prices,” said Samer Bishay, Iristel president and CEO.
“Text+ has been on a global search for strategic partners that align with our commitment to affordability and innovation in the communications space,” said Scott Lahman, text+ founder and CEO, in the press release. “There are very few in the telecom industry who align more closely than Samer and his entire team at Iristel. We’re thrilled to strengthen an already successful relationship and look forward to building industry leading solutions together.”
Sugar Mobile, in conjunction with text+, now serves hundreds of thousands of monthly users in Canada with OTT talk and text services. This customer base is predominantly people without SIM cards who rely on the service as their primary line. “Unfortunately, most do not have cellular coverage as there are no affordable plans for them,” says the release.
“text+ Canadian users are real people using it right now… But who’s to say we couldn’t extend the service beyond Wi-Fi to cellular networks at a low cost to Canadians?” added Bishay, clearly referencing this week’s CRTC wireless policy review hearing which is looking into allowing more companies onto incumbent Canadian wireless networks.
The text+ app gives users an active phone number and has been downloaded more than 100 million times and is available for iOS and Android smartphones and devices.
The business model for text+ includes advertising, microtransactions, and a 2.2-cents per minute outbound calling rate, and various subscription offerings.
