Truphone, which we've covered quite a bit on the VoIP Weblog, provides the ability for you to make cheap or free wifi calls from your compatible Nokia Nseries or Eseries handset at rates far more reasonable than your mobile operator would charge.

It's not enough that these guys lowered their prices recently. They've sweetened the deal even more by offering the ability to use Truphone in a number of public and pay WiFi hotspots.

Granted, this isn't a reality yet. What they've done, however, is signed a licensing agreement with Quiconnect. Quiconnect has technology that enables automatic logon to hotspots that require authentication. Truphone will use Quiconnect's technology in their software while Quiconnect will work to establish Truphone's "virtual" network in the US and Europe.

What's really going to be cool is the pricing model will be different than the usual WiFi roaming arrangement. Instead of paying just to connect, which is usual with WiFI hotspots, you'll only pay when a call is made, just like with normal GSM networks. How much you'll pay remains to be seen, of course, but hopefully it will be reasonable-more reasonable than International roaming is.

Full press release after the jump.

Truphone Acquires Global Public Wi-Fi Network Access and Automatic Hotspot Login with Quiconnect

Truphone is to license technology from Quiconnect that will automatically log on Truphone customers to commercial and public Wi-Fi hotspots and networks across the world, without any need for passwords, accounts or subscriptions.

Core facts

1. The agreement will bring two important benefits to Truphone and its customers:

- Quiconnect will, in effect, create for Truphone a single, giant roaming agreement that removes the need for Truphone to conclude individual agreements with public Wi-Fi network operators; and

- Quiconnect technology will enable automatic log on for Truphone customers, i.e. without requiring their involvement, at hotspots within that worldwide virtual Wi-Fi network.

2. Over the first 12 months of the agreement, Quiconnect will begin to establish Truphone's worldwide virtual network, initially focusing on the USA and Europe.

3. To automatically authenticate and log on its customers at public Wi-Fi locations, Truphone will license Quiconnect's Connector software and embed it into the software that Truphone customers download to their mobile handset.

4. Truphone is the first company to contract with Quiconnect's new range of solutions for application providers to make their services available over wireless broadband.

Quotes

Luke Vinogradov, Quiconnect's senior marketing manager, new products, said:

• "We will be creating arrangements with local Wi-Fi operators so that Truphone users don't need to have local subscriptions with operators to access their networks. This means users will be automatically logged in at Wi-Fi locations but will only pay once a mobile VoIP call is made - just like in the GSM world. This is fundamentally different from most current Wi-Fi pricing models, where you start paying when you connect to a hotspot."

James Tagg, Truphone's founder and CEO, said:

• "Quiconnect will do two important things for Truphone: it will make thousands of public Wi-Fi

locations worldwide accessible and makes it easy to connect to them. Our customers can now just take their phones out of their pockets in these public locations and make Truphone calls without even thinking about it."

Chris Isaacs, Truphone's director of business development said:

• "Going to each and every network vendor or service provider to establish agreements would be hugely time consuming. Working with Quiconnect centralizes all this giving us rapid network creation. It means our customers will get improved access to cheap and lo-cost calls from their mobiles. For local Wi-Fi providers it's an opportunity to increase revenue by capitalizing on the interest in mobile VoIP."

About Truphone

Truphone develops Internet Protocol-based (IP-based) mobile internet telephony, delivered by means of 3G mobile networks and Wi-Fi networks. The Truphone service enables free and low-cost calls for customers by routing calls via Wi-Fi and the Internet.

The service is presently in a 'beta' state and offers Voice-over-IP, SMS-over-IP and 'presence'

capabilities. This beta service was announced in mid-2006, when Truphone became the first company to introduce true internet telephony for mass market mobile phones.

Truphone is the trading name of Software Cellular Network (SCN). SCN is privately owned, funded by both venture capital investment and angel investors.

About Quiconnect

Quiconnect is a specialist provider of systems integration and connectivity management solutions to companies wishing to make services available wirelessly over different public Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks globally. Its clients include the world's leading telecommunications companies, network operators, device and application providers. Quiconnect solves complex integration challenges for customers so that access to public wireless broadband infrastructure is seamless irrespective of the device, application or network used. It provides unique tools, technologies and services to simplify and securely automate user connections to these public networks, along with monitoring and support tools, and financial and accounting settlement services. Headquartered in London UK, Quiconnect was founded in 2001 and has

offices in France, the USA, and Hong Kong. For more information, visit
www.quiconnect.com
.

Important information

Truphone is not a replacement for an ordinary telephone service and emergency calls cannot be made using Truphone. However Truphone does not prevent emergency calls being made via a handset's normal cellular service provider. Truphone cannot advise on the legality of VoIP services in specific territories or jurisdictions. It is the user's responsibility to confirm that use of the Truphone VoIP software and service is permitted in the location in which they use it.

Truphone is a registered trademark of SCN. Other product or service names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.