RingBranch

In-call Audio Advertising

In order to offer free calling, we here at RingBranch must subsidize the cost of each phone call that you make or receive with audio advertising. When you call into RingBranch to make a phone call, you typically will hear 1 to 2 short audio ads before we connect your phone call.   Additionally, if you give out one of the RingBranch access numbers and ask your contacts to call you via RingBranch, then the person calling you will hear 1 or 2 short audio ads before we connect the call to you.   

Also, if your call exceeds an expense limit for us, we reserve the right to gently interrupt your phone call with additional audio advertising in the neighborhood of 15 to 30 seconds that all parties on the line would hear.  Without getting into the details of the economics of this, it should be fairly obvious why we have to do this--we have real and significant costs each time you make a phone call. If you make a 45 minute phone call, that could cost us much more than the revenue that we make from playing 2 ads at the beginning of the phone call.

Some of our users have voiced their opinion that they don't think we should make non RingBranch users hear ads.  In other words, their opinion is if someone is calling a RingBranch user, that person should not have to hear the ad, only the RingBranch user should have to hear ad(s).      Well, we understand where you are coming from. And if we can come up with a solution that works technically and economically that will remedy the situation, we will implement it.  Until we do, though, we need to keep our current solution in place.    The alternative would be to eliminate the ability to receive phone calls and we think this is the worse of the 2 options.

If you have suggestions on how we can navigate this issue, please let us know. We are all ears!

Thanks for supporting RingBranch.

What an "in-call audio ad" sounds like

As mentioned below, we are testing out a new business model in an attempt to keep RingBranch a free service.  When you call into your RingBranch personal auto-attendant to make a call to a friend, you will hear an ad before we connect you.   Likewise, if your friend calls your RingBranch number, he/she will hear an ad before we connect him/her to you.   

Would you like to hear an example of what an "in-call audio ad" might sound like?  If so, feel free to give me a call on my RingBranch number at 678 717 5001.  You will hear an audio ad before the call rings to me. This is a live ad so only interact with the ad if you are interested in the offer.  After the ad plays, this call will forward to my phone and I will try to pick up and chat if I am available.

As always, questions and suggestions are welcome.

Allen
Co-Founder, RingBranch

New Caller-ID features launched

Yesterday, we launched a cool new feature that our users have been requesting.  The new feature allows you to designate whether you want your RingBranch number or the actual phone number of the phone you are calling from when you are making a call through RingBranch.   An example better illustrates this feature and its usefulness:

• Say that "Joe" is a RingBranch user. 
• Let's assume that Joe's RingBranch number is 678-234-1234. 
• Let's further assume that Joe is calling into RingBranch from his mobile phone with phone number 404-376-0000.
• Joe calls into his RingBranch number, enters his PIN, then choses the contact that he wants to call.
• Let's assume that Joe choses to call Jill from his personal directory that he maintains on RingBranch.
• When Jill's phone rings, Joe can decide whether he wants 678-234-1234 (i.e. his RingBranch number) to show on Jill's Caller ID, or if Joe wants 404-376-0000 (i.e. his mobile number) to show on Jill's Caller ID.

One can change this option at any time from the MyProfile section of his account. Look under the "Making Calls to Friends" header and you will see the option to designate this. 

Additionally, we also offer you the ability to designate what number should show on your own Caller-ID when you Receive a call from your RingBranch number.  Again, an example helps to explain this:

• With RingBranch, you can make AND receive phone calls. So, if someone calls you on your RingBranch number, the call will ring through to the number that you have designated.
• Let's assume that Jill knows Joe's RingBranch number and calls it.
• Let's assume that Jill is calling from her landline in New Orleans at 504-222-0000.
• From within RingBranch, Joe has set things up so that any call to his RingBranch number is set to automatically forward to his mobile phone.
• When Jill calls Joe on his RingBranch number, Joe can decide if he would like to see Jill's mobile number on his Caller ID or if he would like to see his own RingBranch number on his Caller ID.

You can change this setting at any time under the "Receiving calls from friends" section under MyProfile.

Enjoy this new feature and let us know if you have any questions.

Advertising-based calling plan

As we continue down the beta road, we are contemplating an advertising-based model that would allow us to continue to provide the RingBranch service for free.  Our plan is to offer a free ad-supported service and a service that has no ads but charges $5 to $20 per month, depending on the number of minutes used. 

In-call advertising is a rather new advertising medium.  You may have heard an In-Call ad if you called a service like Free411. ( You can listen to this sample ad from Free411 to hear an example of In-Call advertising).   

We are still sorting through things like the number of ads that would be played and when they would be played.  We obviously want to make this as non-intrusive to our users as possible and we will focus on this  At the same time, we have to be able to make enough money on the advertising to pay for connecting your phone call.  If you make a call to a friend and talk for 10 minutes, we, on average, would incur telecom costs of around $.20, assuming we have to connect through the PSTN.   So, during the course of that call, we have to figure out a way to make, on average, more than $.20.  Otherwise, we give you free long distance calling and we lose money!

We would like to hear your opinion on In-Call advertising.  Would you agree to listen to short audio ads in return for a free long distance service?  What if we could offer free international calling?  Please send us your thoughts.

New RingBranch Account Sign-ups temporarily suspended

I wanted to let everyone know that we are currently adjusting a few things on our new account sign up page.  Once we have made these modifications, you will be able to sign up for the free beta and get a RingBranch number.   Until then, you won't be able to do so.

I hesitate to give a time estimate because I am usually wrong about these things. But, I have been told by my fellow co-workers that it "shouldn't be too long."   

I will provide an update on this blog as soon as we are back to normal.

RingBranch behind the scenes

So, just because we have been quiet doesn't mean we haven't been busy!  I just realized that it's been 2 months since my last post.  As you can see from our new logo and new website, we have undergone an extensive and much needed redesign. 

See a Before and After comparison below:

Before:

And, Wait for it....

After:

I wanted to give a big shout out to the individual who helped us with our redesign.  If you need a hand with branding, web design, and UI assistance, I recommend you speak with Jared England of the Ice Design Group.   Jared definitely has skillz!

Viva La RingBranch!

How RingBranch can help T-Mobile MyFaves users

As alluded to earlier, if you are one of the more than 3 million T-Mobile MyFaves' subscribers, RingBranch may be of great interest to you.   

Before we explain why this is the case, let's review the MyFaves plan.  If you chose one of the MyFaves plan from T-Mobile, you get:

• Unlimited nationwide calling to any five numbers on any network, even landlines

So, why then  might you be interested in RingBranch if you are a MyFaves user? Because, simply by choosing your unique RingBranch phone number as 1 of your 5 MyFaves, you can effectively increase the number of people that you can enjoy unlimited nationwide calling to.   Remember, when you list your RingBranch number as 1 of your MyFaves, any call to or from that number does not go against your plan minutes.   So, you can call your RingBranch number from your mobile phone, reach your RingBranch Auto-Attendant, and connect to 1 of up to 100 contacts that you can maintain in RingBranch.  When you talk, since the initial call was placed to a phone number within your MyFaves, the call should be counted as a MyFaves phone call.

Additionally, you can give your contacts your RingBranch phone number and ask that they call you on this number. (Remember, when they call your RingBranch number, they will get you. When you call your RingBranch number, you get your Personal Auto-Attendant to connect to your contacts. ) If you have your RingBranch number listed as a MyFave, then any phone call FROM that phone number will be treated as a MyFave call as well.

To give this a try, first sign up for a free beta RingBranch account   Then, edit your MyFaves by logging into  the T-Mobile website or through your mobile phone.  Input your new RingBranch number as 1 of your new MyFaves and give your new MyFave a name.  ( I call mine "Bob" just so I can easily find it.)  You should be able to verify that this is working by looking at your detailed billing records--you will see that calls to your RingBranch number have been counted as a MyFave call.

Let us know if you have any questions on any of this.

T-Mobile and MyFaves® are trademarks or registered trademarks of T-Mobile USA, Inc. Neither this website nor the RingBranch service are, or have been, endorsed by, and are not affiliated with any of the third party companies mentioned on this site. RingBranch is a service mark of CallBranch, LLC.

What Phone Number Will You Get from RingBranch?

When you sign up for a RingBranch account, we provide you with your own unique phone number.  This phone number is just like any 7-digit phone number that you are accustomed to using.  Currently, all of the phone numbers that we provide are within the state of Georgia and thus have area codes from this area.  For example, you are likely to get a phone number such as:

(678) 555-1234   or (770) 555-1234 

(NOTE: These are just example numbers--each of our users gets his/her own unique and different phone numbers)

In the near future, we will be able to provide you with a phone number within a specific area code that you request so it will not be a long distance call for you to call into your Personal Auto-Attendant.  Most mobile carriers and many land line providers provide free long distance so hopefully this IS NOT currently an issue for you. 

For example, my sister in Seattle calls into her RingBranch Auto-Attendant dialing a 678 area code number from a 206 area code number.  It's long distance (obviously) but it doesn't cost her anything extra since her mobile plan doesn't charge extra for long distance--most don't these days!

Let us know if you have any questions on this.

RingBranch Service further explained

While our website hopefully does a decent job of explaining "what is RingBranch", I thought it would be helpful to further clarify what we do.

What we Do:

• Provide you with a new and unique phone number--we call this your RingBranch number. It's a regular US-based phone number with format: (area code)-xxx-xxxx.
• When you call your RingBranch number, you reach what we call your RingBranch Personal Auto-Attendant.   The RingBranch Personal Auto-Attendant will then connect you with any of your contacts that you have entered through our website. 
• You can call into your RingBranch Personal Auto-Attendant from any of your phones, whether it be your mobile, home, work, etc. And, you can use a regular cell phone, land line, or VOIP phone—you don’t have to be on the Internet or on our website to use it.    
• If you want, you can give your RingBranch phone number to your contacts.  When they call you on this number, one of your phones will ring.  You designate which one(s) from our website.   It's important to note that when they call your RingBranch number, they will not get your Auto-Attendant.
• The RingBranch service includes the actual time that you are talking on the phone, whether that be local or long distance.   During the beta, this is provided for free. Once we transition to commercial release, we will provide a healthy serving of all you can eat minutes for one low fixed cost.

So, why do you need a service like this?

• If you are one of the estimated 3 million T-Moblle MyFaves subscribers or one of the Alltel Circle of Friends users, then this is could be very useful to you. We will post more about this later but for the time being--think of the benefits of having your RingBranch number as 1 of your 5 MyFaves. All of a sudden, instead of 5 MyFaves, you really would have over 100! 
• It can help save you time if you keep all of your contact’s phone numbers programmed into your mobile phone but you still use your landline from home in order to conserve your cell phone minutes (268 million Americans have landlines)
• In the event that your cell phone is lost or stolen, RingBranch can serve as a backup of your most frequently dialed phone numbers.  In fact, it is like a virtual SIM card—you don’t have to worry about storing your phone numbers on your phone or SIM card. 

Let us know if you have any questions on any of this.  And, as always, please send us your feedback.

Introducing RingBranch

Hi, I am Allen Graber.  Along with my biz partner, Ian Willoughby,  we are pleased to introduce RingBranch to the world!   I want to thank all of the folks that have helped thus far in getting us to this point.

We are quietly unveiling the beta of our service today.  While we have put a lot of work and thought into the offering and are proud of what we have developed with minimal budget, we recognize that we have some areas to improve.  We want and need your feedback in order to make this a truly valuable and useful service to you.

During the beta, you can try us out for free. We will give you up to 1,000 minutes per month of talk time so you should have plenty of time to check us out.  All that we ask is that you let us know your comments,  suggestions, and questions.

So, what exactly is RingBranch?  It is essentially a hosted PBX system provided to you, the individual, rather than a company or organization.   Think of it this way--we all are familiar with dialing into a company's Auto-Attendant and pressing * for a dial by name directory.   Flip this behavior on its side and instead of you dialing into a company's Auto-Attendant, consider dialing into YOUR own Auto-Attendant (which you and only you can access) and then connecting to one of your contacts.

RingBranch enables both Inbound and outbound calling.  You dial into your RingBranch number, connect to the RingBranch Personal Auto-Attendant, and then are connected to the person you are calling.  Likewise, you can give your contacts your RingBranch number--when they call it, they will reach you and not your Auto-Attendant.  For more information on this, feel free to check out our FAQ.

When you sign up for the RingBranch service, we give you a unique RingBranch phone number, the ability to build out your contact list and maintain your calling preferences, and a generous amount of included talk time.

Later in this blog, I will go into some reasons on why we think you need this service and how we think we are different from a few other players in this space.   

In the meantime, please give us a try and sign up for a free beta account.