CORK FIRM Cubic Telecom has signed an exclusive deal with high-profile US start-up Qik to provide it with branded Sim cards which it claims will save Qik customers up to 80 per cent on telephone and data charges when travelling internationally.
The deal was announced in San Francisco last night as part of a week-long trade mission to the US by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan.
Qik has software which can be downloaded to almost 120 different mobile phones which enables users to broadcast live video from their mobile to the web. Backers of the Silicon Valley firm include Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape which produced the first mass-market web browser, and his long-time business partner Ben Horowitz. A participant in the Tokyo Marathon recently used Qik to stream live footage while he was running, and Heidi Klum broadcast backstage footage from a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Cubic Telecom will produce Qik Roam branded pre-paid Sim cards for its US partner. Qik users will be encouraged to purchase these cards before travelling overseas. The tagline of the marketing campaign is “Go mobile, not broke”.
Founded in 2005, Cork-headquartered Cubic Telecom already provides its own MaxRoam service which provides low-cost voice services in 213 countries and data in 137 countries.
Chief executive Pat Phelan said it had become clear that to sell MaxRoam globally would “cost millions of dollars on marketing alone”. Mr Phelan said as a result the firm has developed a virtual platform which can be rolled out for any brand that has a large number of customers or members.
Mr Phelan said Cubic has a goal of signing up 50 partners for the service this year. Cubic enters into a revenue-sharing deal with the brands that sign up to sell the pre-paid Sim cards.
The Qik deal was announced at an Enterprise Ireland-hosted event in San Francisco last night, and Mr Phelan said the State development agency had been extremely supportive.
Ms Coughlan’s visit to the west coast of the US will include stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland. Her message to potential investors is that Ireland is open for business.
“Ireland is home to 464 US companies employing over 94,000 people, and the contribution made by companies from the US west coast cannot be underestimated,” she said. “Our continued funding commitment to research, development and innovation activities is a key pull factor that ensures they establish and maintain operations in Ireland as their preferred strategic location for Europe and the EMEA region.”
Ms Coughlan said last week’s Budget included over €500 million for investment in enterprise to be made available to Irish and international firms that will create and maintain jobs in the Republic. – (additional reporting: PA)
