The Prepaid Press - October 15, 2008 - (Page 7)

PREPAID BUSINESS October 15 · 2008 - 7 Saul Bienenfeld, President of Pop2Call Interviewed by Ingrid Ricks 5 MINUTES WITH those products don’t work worldwide, and if they do, the rates are much higher than my rates. And I don’t think their products are as attractive. This stick was developed beautifully with an antenna inside and a niche slot for a SIM card. It’s very slick. IR: Do you see this selling in regular prepaid distribution channels? SB: I can definitely see it fitting within the existing prepaid distribution channels. There are a lot of people who currently don’t have Internet service in their house because they can’t afford Saul Bienenfeld says it was his addiction to his Blackberry that made him realize prepaid Internet would be the next big wave to hit the prepaid market. So years ago he set to work on developing a global wireless prepaid Internet product. That product – POP2Surf – was officially unveiled at The Prepaid Press Expo through his newest company, POP2Call. Bienenfeld, an attorney turned entrepreneur who is also the founder of All U.S. Communications, recently talked about his new prepaid USB wireless stick – which he views as the answer to eliminating the economic barriers associated with global Internet access. “There are a lot of people who currently don’t have Internet service in their house because they can’t afford to pay Cablevision on a monthly basis and they need it.” IR: Provide a little background. Why did you start POP2Call? SB: With All U.S. Communications, the focus is on buying handsets overseas and selling them in the U.S. But I realized the market was geared to prepaid and have always dreamed of having a better prepaid product. With POP2Call, I developed a system whereby you could call to and from overseas using VOIP. We came up with an unlimited calling card that works to and from 19 countries. That’s the whole concept behind POP2Call: Pay One Price. IR: OK. Tell me about POP2Surf. I saw it at QuarterPageAdd_Quatro08.ai 4/29/08 Prepaid Expo and was very interested. SB: It’s a great device. The way it works is this: You plug it into your laptop and if it is your first time using it, all of the necessary software will be downloaded to your computer. You then put in your PIN code and it will find the closest 3G network. In the U.S., the network is AT&T. Then hit connect and you have wireless Internet. This works around the world the same way – it’s good in more than 60 countries. IR: How much Internet usage does a person get PM 4:41:53with POP2Surf? SB: The stick comes with 10 megabytes loaded on it to get you started. To add more, consumers do one of two things: They can either go to the POP2Call web site with a credit card and purchase more megabytes, or they can buy a prepaid scratch off card from a retail location good for more time and reload by entering their PIN. IR: How long does 10 megabytes last? SB: Let’s talk in terms of 50 megabytes because I have exact numbers for that. With 50 megabytes, a person can download 17,067 emails or 731 word documents assuming each document is about 5 text pages. Or they can download 102 digital photos, 16 PowerPoint presentations or conduct 341 typical Web page look ups. IR: That’s a lot. So the big question: How much does it cost? SB: The stick, which includes the SIM card with 10 megabytes, has a suggested retail price of $199.99. After that, the reload cost is only $1.65 per megabyte for zone 1, which accounts for 19 countries. In zone 2, which accounts for the rest of the world, it costs $2.20 for 100 kilobytes. There are 1,040 kilobytes to a megabyte. IR: That’s a big difference in price. SB: We are still working on it, and are continuing to find more and more countries to move from Zone 2 to Zone 1. Zone 2 is on a GM3 roaming network, which is why it is so much more expensive. We are currently talking with reps in Hong Kong to get better rates. It’s an ongoing process. IR: What do you see as your markets for this? SB: The easiest market is the travel sector. There are millions of travelers going from inside the US to outside, and from the outside coming into the U.S. When you are sitting in a hotel room you will need Internet and will be charged up to $25 a day. With my product, it’s like this: You take my POP2Surf stick, put it in your computer, download the five or six emails you need and send out the five or six emails you need to send to pay Cablevision on a monthly basis and they need it. Now they can afford to have it. It’s a perfect way to bring Internet service into the house. It’s also a great way to monitor child Internet use. When you don’t want your child to have access to the Internet, just pull out the stick and put it in your pocket. The same goes for adults, for that matter. IR: Do you have a good wholesale model in place? SB: We have a tremendous wholesale model for distributors who are interested. We want the retail chains to make money, the distributors to make money, and to provide end users with a wonderful product at what we believe is a low cost. IR: Do you know how your prices compare to subscription-based models? SB: Our prices are slightly higher. But there is no contract. You are paying for what you use. With these contracts, you are paying $40 a month whether you use it or not. IR: This sounds like a great fit for the business sector. Are you also going after that market? SB: Definitely. We are approaching some major industries. If a business gives their employees a laptop, we also want them to give them a POP2Surf stick. IR: Any other products in the works? SB: Yes. We are going to have the POPSIMCard. It will sell for between 9 and 14 cents a minute flat rate, work in all 50 states, and will enable both national and international calling without having to dial an access number for the same price. It’s an amazing system that we have been developing with our partners. These are specially manufactured cards. When the card sees a +011 or +1 number, it knows to terminate the call through VOIP. This way, no one has to remember to dial an access number or forget to dial an access number. IR: Where do you see the telecom industry headed? SB: I think that the telecom industry is going to evolve to the point that everyone, no matter what tax bracket they are in, will be able to have Internet access and a cell phone to make international calls, and won’t be a slave to their credit report. It’s inviting the rest of the world – such as the migrant workers –to be on the same playing field as everyone else. Saul Bienenfeld is President of POP2Call. For more information, visit www.POP2Call.com “We want the retail chains to make money, the distributors to make money, and to provide end users with a wonderful product at what we believe is a low cost.” out. That’s it. You don’t have to pay the hotel a whole day’s worth of service to send a few emails, and you don’t have to have a contract. You pay for what you use. I sit in the airport, put it in and go. It’s very easy and very fast. IR: Is this the same type of product that is offered on a subscription basis? SB: It’s the same type of product, but most of http://www.quatrocanada.com http://www.POP2Call.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - October 15, 2008

The Prepaid Press - October 15, 2008 Oblio Wins Judgment Mobile Remittance Providers Look to Latin America Contents The Retske Report: The Game Changer Regulatory Rundown: New Rules and Requirements Likely for 2009 5 Minutes With Saul Bienenfeld, President of Pop2Call Prepaid Wireless Roundup MetroPCS Sues Virgin Mobile Wireless in Brief Leap’s Cricket Service Introduces Cricket PAYGo Virgin Mobile USA to Launch the Shuttle New Study Shows Mobile Phones Merging Roles TracFone Launches SafeLink Wireless in FL IVI and Titan Sign Agreement with YA Global Boost Mobile Launches New Phone The State of Prepaid Technology: Will the Coming Market Bring You Problems or Opportunities? Calling Cards in Brief The Legal Line Tata Awarded Cisco Powered Status IDT Fails to Meet NYSE Listing Standards BillSoft Offers New Taxation Service Dialogic to Acquire NMS Platforms Business STi Acquires Sprint’s Calling Card Business TelcoBridges Introduces ToolPack System Manager Hypercom Increases Multilane Team Mobile Banking: CGAP Spurs Market Prepaid Resources Introduces PORTABLES Bancorp and Obopay Introduce Payment Card Verities, Inc. Partners with BBB and i2c Inc. The Bancorp Bank Partners with LeagueSafe Donor Dialogue Partners with Springbok Services Mercator Offers New Merchant Report Travelex Launches Budget Calculator MPOWER Companies Join Clinton Global Initiative Payments in Brief Promotions Evolve into Must-Have Marketing Strategy for Prepaid Sector Access Launches Cash-Back Rewards VendTek Partners with United Bank Card Flash Foods, Tedeschi Partner with Pinnacle Prepaid 101: Basics of PINs Gasoline Cards to Benefit Armed Forces, Veterans i2c Inc. Signs Agreement with Diestel iPayStation Partners with Pronto Envios Sodexo Releases Prepaid Incentive Card Heartland Leverages VeriFone Managed Services Retail Focus in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - October 15, 2008

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