(Almost) Free International Mobile Calls

Nothing like disruptive technology to disrupt yet another high-profit marketplace. Today’s victim is the wireless long-distance market where carriers are charging subscribers exorbitant prices that tower over LD rates on landline phones. Coming to the rescue of consumers everywhere is Vancouver-based EQC Communications, which just unveiled EQO Mobile, a service that “lets users make international long distance calls and exchange IM and text messages on their mobile phones at local calling and messaging rates”. EQO claims you can save as much as 95% on all international calls.

Well, it seems too good to be true. But EQO said it doesn’t stop there. Using EQO Mobile, you get free calls and text messages with other EQO users; text messages to regular mobile phones with savings of up to 70%, free instant-messaging using MSN, Yahoo, AIM, GoogleTalk, ICQ and Jabber. And there’s more: it’s apparently easy to use, there’s no calling cards, complicated dialing or callbacks. If you’re at all tempted, you can sign up here. For more on EQO Mobile, check out Russell Shaw.

EQO, which unveiled its mobile service at DEMO 2006, raised $9-million earlier this year from Ventures West, GrowthWorks and BDC Capital.