Barcelona, 26 February, 2018. BubbleTone (www.BubbleTone.io), the first blockchain-based ecosystem for the telecom industry, and Horizon Communications (www.horizoncomm.co), provider of innovative wireless, announce strategic partnership to offer affordable connectivity underpinned by advanced technologies.
Horizon agreed to use the blockchain-based telecommunications platform in their operational area in the Caribbean region, Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands, and in Central America.
BubbleTone built a global blockchain-based ecosystem to directly and globally connect network service providers and subscribers. The company is showcasing the platform at Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona.
For travelers, it provides direct connection to a foreign mobile network at local rates. Downloading the foreign operator’s profile to their SIM card allows the users to bypass the extremely high-priced international mobile roaming and become direct local subscribers of a given mobile network while in travel. They can also retain and use their home number.
For telecom operators, BubbleTone platform eliminates the need to engage in the exceedingly expensive roaming agreements. They are inefficient, outdated and can cost over 15 million dollars to establish and maintain, involving commitment payments and cumbersome infrastructure convergence. These costs are prohibitive for small and medium-sized mobile operators.
With BubbleTone blockchain, mobile providers of all sizes can offer international roaming and expand their user base with zero acquisition cost.
“The number of tourists visiting the Caribbean is growing, as well as their average spending which was up 20% in 2017 compared to the year before. We are proud to offer a solution that enables the network operator Horizon Communications to service incoming tourists in the region directly and to provide affordable and reliable connectivity instead of spotty coverage and unbearably high roaming charges that travelers are faced with now,” says Yury Morozov, BubbleTone founder and CEO.
Horizon founder Gilbert A Darrell confirmed the company is well aware of the pains of setting up mobile roaming agreements for traveling customers: “For a carrier, setting up and engaging in these contracts can be incredibly time consuming, taking years to establish. There is a vast market for travelers coming to the countries we will be operating in, as tourism is a 25 million person per year business in the Caribbean. BubbleTone’s ability to set up a marketplace for companies to buy and sell cellular data, voice and SMS packages removes inefficiencies in the market, providing a new level of competition that shows the strength of blockchain technology.”
Horizon plans to launch in its flagship market Bermuda within 2018 and then focus on expansion to Caribbean and Central American countries over the next few years.
BubbleTone is a member of Crypto Valley Association established to build world’s leading ecosystems for crypto and blockchain. BubbleTone directly connects telecom operators, subscribers and service providers via the blockchain. www.BubbleTone.io
Horizon Communications is a technology-driven company that will use next generation, fixed wireless LTE to deliver its service offerings. Horizon’s goal is to provide high speed internet, high definition Cable TV and VOIP telephone services in areas where customers currently receive poor, unreliable, and overpriced services. www.horizoncomm.co