Freshtel signs new OEM partnership

Local VoIP provider Freshtel has partnered with Hong Kong based Binatone Telecom Group on a new bundling deal.

The deal will see Freshtel provide its software and hardware while Binatone will take on the funding, manufacture and distribution of the hardware to its existing customer base.

Freshtel will receive a share of all sales revenue from the sale of hardware and Binatone will earn a share in call termination revenue generated on any Freshtel service launched with Binatone’s customers introduced to Freshtel.

Binatone, a major digital cordless and handset manufacturer and distributor, claims market share of more than 25 percent across the UK and Europe.

In an ASX statement, Freshtel Holdings CEO Michael Carew said the deal was of major significance, especially in the light of Binatone’s plans to shortly launch in India and the US.

“This agreement opens the doors for Freshtel to offer its internet telephony solutions to Binatone’s customer base in over 44 countries,” he said. “[This includes] some of the world’s largest retailers such as Wal-Mart and Carrefour in Europe.”

Binatone founder and Chairman, Gulu Lavini, said the company’s determination to be at the forefront of the VoIP telephony revolution underlaid the deal.

“The next telecom revolution is VoIP — and we are determined to be instrumental in bringing it to the mainstream,” he said.

The deal, and others such as the December signing of UK retailer Tesco as a retail partner, meant Freshtel was becoming accepted as a leader in internet telephone services, Carew said.