Jaxtr-on-the-go enables no-Web VoIP calls
New Jaxtr service lets people make free or low-cost international phone calls without and Internet connection.
VoIP service Jaxtr is untethering its users from the Internet. The company was set to announce on Wednesday a new Jaxtr-on-the-go service that lets people make calls from their phones without having to visit to Jaxtr's Web site first.
The service is designed for people who aren't near a computer with Internet access or who don't have Web access on their mobile phones.
Basically, users can dial a toll-free local access number from their mobile or landline phone and type in the number they want to call. Then, they can either pay for a low-cost direct call or wait for the service to make the connection after sending an SMS message to the other people and providing them with a local number to dial.
The company has more than 150 toll-free numbers worldwide, mostly for major metropolitan areas. Obviously, you have to go to Jaxtr's Web site initially to get the toll-free number that is nearest you.
From then on, you dial that number to call anywhere and type in the phone numbers you want to call. If you want to make a free call, you wait on the phone while an SMS is sent to the people you are calling that notifies them you are trying to reach them and offers a local number they can use to get connected to you.
Conveniently, the phone number that you both dialed can be used to reach each other thereafter, said Bahman Koohestanti, chief executive of Jaxtr.
The service is an extension of the FreeConnect service Jaxtr announced in December that lets people make free international calls.
For FreeConnect, you have to enter your phone number and the number of the person you want to call on the Jaxtr Web site to initiate the connection, and the other person has to have registered with Jaxtr.
For both services, people can call others directly using calling credits dubbed "Jax." Eventually, people will be able to purchase calling credits by phone, Koohestanti said.