Jaxtr Dials Out and into $10M

Doug Mohney — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:33:30 -0400

Jaxtr, yet another VoIP-to-mobile-phone play, has now enabled out of network calls with the usual discounted savings--"substantially less"--than rates charged by a typical calling card. The company also scored $10 million in VC money.

Jaxtr users were always able to make free in-network calls, it was the off-network piece that wasn't announced until yesterday. Calls are placed with direct dial numbers, avoiding the headache of access and PIN numbers. Jaxtr is currently used by more than 10 million people in 220 countries, says the company.

Lehman Brothers Venture Partners led the $10 million dollar of financing. A Lehman Brothers partner praised Jaxtr's ability to acquire "millions" of customers per month without spending any money on marketing and the ability to monetize its offering within 16 months of launch through advertising and premium (i.e. value-added bells and whistles) services. Premium features include more free SMS per month and enhanced digital voicemail features.

Credits, or "jax," can be spent and purchased to call non-members. One jax equals about a penny, so you can call Canada and China for around a penny per minute and India for 6 cents per minute.

Has Jaxtr found a way to survive in a crowded field populated by Jajah, TruPhone, and the corpses of other players such as Jangl, and TalkPlus?

For more
- Jaxtr $10M and out-of-network release

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