A Cork-based SIM card producer has revealed its plans to launch a €99 dual-mode GSM/Wi-Fi mobile phone which will allow users to call each other for free using wireless broadband.

Cubic Telecom, who say they will launch the new mobile phone later this year, announced their plans to Silicon Valley technology investors at TechCrunch40 in San Francisco, when Cubic was one of 40 technology start-ups chosen from more than 700 to present its new phone and SIM card services.

The SIM card producer say companies will be able to set up the Cubic Mobile to work over secured wireless networks in minutes and it will revolutionise the way business users choose between landline and mobile calls using Wi-Fi.

TechCrunch40 was billed as the 'hottest of hot speed dates' for technology start-ups. Cubic was the only Irish company asked by TechCrunch40 organisers to present its business and product release plans. Although it didn't win, the huge publicity generated in the USA by coverage of its story on TV, radio and in newspapers caused sales of MAXroam to jump there.

MAXroam, the low-cost roaming SIM card Cubic launched last October, is being promoted as the perfect solution for the business that wants to create a local presence in other countries without the hefty costs of setting up lots of branch offices. The MAXroam cost savings are delivered by Cubic's intelligent call routing services, which instead of routing your call through O2 or Vodafone's international network and on to a local mobile provider in the country you're currently in, automatically calculate the lowest-cost route through VoIP and/or international landline networks, then only transfer the call to more expensive mobile networks at the last moment.

The MAXroam SIM card has subsequently caught the public's imagination with its users ranging from businesses that want to make big savings on otherwise unavoidable roaming charges through to charities that need staff to be able to move seamlessly from one country to another without having to change to a local SIM or incur stiff roaming charges, to backpackers whose parents want to be able to call one affordable number to get them, no matter what country their children are in.

In the first four months of sales, the income from 'top-ups' (existing users adding credit to their accounts) already exceeds new sales, showing that early adopters are already turning into regular users. Around 70% of Cubic's business comes from the US, with the other 30% coming from Ireland and the rest of the world. While initial sales have been channelled through the Internet, Cubic is now building a retail sales channel for MAXroam by recruiting licensed agents around the globe.

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