Deutsche Telekom invests in upstart VoIP firmDeutsche Telekom, the parent of T-Mobile, said it has invested in Jajah, an upstart firm that lets customers bypass long-distance fees by connecting their calls over the Internet.
The venture funding arm of Deutsche Telekom joined computer-chip maker Intel in leading an investment round totaling $20 million. Intel’s participation was announced earlier this month. The specific amount invested by each participant in the round was not revealed.
Founded in Austria in 2005, Jajah has emerged as the third model of VoIP.
Other VoIP businesses, like eBay ’s Skype service and Vonage Holdings, generally don’t involve the user’s wired or wireless phone, relying on a broadband connection to carry the call to the outside world.
“We see ourselves as a carrier-friendly company,” said Jajah CEO Trevor Healy.
In contrast to Skype and Vonage-type applications, the existence of Jajah encourages people to keep their fixed lines, he said. In addition, Jajah pays carriers to terminate calls on their networks.
When Jajah is used with mobile phones, the carrier may miss long-distance fees, but at least the user is consuming mobile phone minutes.
For a carrier, “the best company to invest in is one that doesn’t attack their fixed-line business,” Healy said.
As part of the investment deal, Jajah will pay reduced fees to connect calls to Deutsche Telekom subscribers.
The investment by Intel’s venture arm “will be used to accelerate the development of next-generation communication solutions on a global scale,” according to Intel.
