onoff, the start-up putting your SIM in the cloud
Not heard of onoff? How you use your phone is about to change.
Forget hefty roaming fees (see ya), swapping your SIM when you travel abroad (adios), or handing out your personal number to your business contacts (so long, farewell). Your SIM is heading up to the cloud.
The first of its kind, onoff is a free app that’s revolutionising the SIM card. onoff gives you as many numbers as you want, for as little or as long as you want, all safely stored to switch ‘on’ and ‘off’ as you wish. The founder, Taïg Khris, former rollerblading world champion, first came up with the idea of “cloud numbers” in 2013. From then on, the vision rapidly developed into a concrete project, and today onoff boasts 1 million downloads and telecom licenses in over 20 countries.
Your SIM card in the cloud
The app allows you to gather all of your contacts, phone numbers and data plans in one space: the cloud. If you’re a frequent traveller and need a foreign number for 2 weeks, onoff is there. If you need a professional number as well as a personal one, with different pictures, profiles and ringtones, onoff’s got your back. And for those unlucky people who have a tendency to frequently lose or break their phone, all you have to do to recover your number is sign in to the app on a different device, or from a desktop, and you’re set.
They’ve also invented a technology to ‘port’ your number to onoff, to be stored in the app. For example, if you’re off to the US for one year or you spend your life as a digital nomad, you can keep your French number safely stored and protected for when you get back. You won’t lose it nor pay for the plan while you’re not using it. Easily move your number from your sim, to the app, and back again.
The potential of the app really is limitless. You can have a second/third/fourth/fifth mobile number. You can buy a local mobile number from the other side of the world in an instant. Or you can add a number that you already own.
And that’s not the only problems onoff solves:
• onoff is the cheapest service in the world for international usage
• Have as many numbers as you want, for business, to give out to companies, to give out to that stranger in the bar… Turn them on, off, or delete them as and when
• Keep your number local wherever you are (because not many people feel comfortable picking up calls from an unfamiliar foreign number)
• Schedule texts. Landing late at night? ‘Queue’ your texts to be sent out at a sociable hour, so as not to disturb your recipient
• Use what onoff calls ‘selective airplane mode’, switching off different features like SMS, or voicemail, or calls on demand. For example, if you’re in a meeting and what to receive messages but not calls, this is perfect.
But above all, it’s the flexibility of onoff that we love the most. Its UX really takes into account the different needs and profiles we have of different numbers, which results in a seamless, tailor-made service.
From an investor’s perspective, what sets onoff apart?
onoff is the only product in the world to combine a mobile application with telecom technology. While there’s other apps that can set you up with an extra, temporary number; they all work over the internet, not over cellular networks. Long-term, onoff should knock this competition out the park; onoff’s service is cheaper and significantly more extensive. It’s also more respective of regulation, working alongside regulators and carriers every step of the way to ensure a smooth and consistent service.
onoff’s Founder Taïg Khris speaking with OneRagtime’s Founder Stéphanie Hospital at 4YFN as part of Mobile World Congress 2018
“Cloud numbers”, the reinvention of an industry
The telecom world is ruthless and highly competitive, a handful of companies control most of today’s market and detain the majority of the profit. The biggest names are AT&T and Verizon, who together reached 291 billion US dollars in sales last year. Approaching this mega-industry is a bold move. But onoff’s success is because its product doesn’t compete directly with mobile operators. It offers a new kind of service; one that makes the telecom giants compete amongst themselves. How? Because amongst the many features offered by onoff, one of them is that it will always connect your number to the highest performing network.
onoff is truly reinventing how we communicate, and solving, in Taïg’s words, “the total nonsense” that in our technological age our phone is blocked in a SIM card. The way we communicate is changing at an incredible pace and onoff is at the forefront of this shift, anticipating what our needs will be in an era of increasing globalization. For all the citizens of the world out there, this app is meant for you.
We are incredibly proud to be backing onoff, a project that’s both bold and revolutionary, showing fantastic metrics both as a product and as an investment. To discover more about onoff and our other disruptive start-ups, sign up to our platform today.
This article was originally published at www.oneragtime.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter to see the latest articles and infographics first 😊
