Yahoo still suffering under the looming shadow of a Microsoft hostile takeover attempt has struck an agreement with a startup company Jajah to outsource the Phone In and Phone Out Internet telephony functions of its Yahoo Messenger chat and instant messaging application users in over 200 countries.
“Jajah grabs the opportunity to serve 97 million Yahoo Messenger clients in the US.”
Jajah with great aspiration offers its web-activated telephone and calling services in a variety of forms, from email clients to mobile devices. They grabbed the opportunity to apply themselves to another market segment.
Yahoo Messenger users have been using Yahoo’s “Phone in and Phone out” service for calls among landline phones, mobile phones, and PC connections.
The “Phone In” and “Phone Out” service will allow users to make low-cost PC-to-phone and phone-to-PC voice calls in Jajah’s Network of over 200 global countries by using Yahoo Messenger starting with the third quarter of this year.
“PC-to-PC calls among service subscribers are free; with a penny-a-minute charge for calls to U.S. landline and cell phones. A phone number can be acquired for $2.50 a month.”
The deal marks a strategic move and a way of providing Yahoo Messenger users with a high-quality communications experience, providing them an instant Internet telephony network, and a merger between the old and the new (traditional and IP telephony).
“The advantage of this partnership is Jajah’s open, next generation communications platform that will support the existing Yahoo Messenger voice offering beginning in the third quarter,” Jajah said in a statement.
“This pact with Jajah will also help Yahoo carry on providing a great communication experience to our millions of Yahoo! Messenger users,” said Yahoo VP Sabrina Ellis, in a statement. “Yahoo Messenger is one of the first communication tools consumers see and use when they turn on their computers, so it is critical that our partner mirror our commitment to our users, and Jajah’s reliable VoIP network and proven customer- and carrier-friendly experience make it an ideal solution.”
Jajah will take over the responsibility for connecting calls between Yahoo Messenger users, including telephony infrastructure, payment processing, and customer care.
Jajah has boasted a 10 million-strong user base for its innumerable products before today’s announcement. Yahoo supports a few more users than that, in the range of 97 million Yahoo Messenger users currently.
Trevor Healy, Jajah CEO, said in a statement: “We are honored to be selected by Yahoo to meet their voice needs. Through this relationship, we have the opportunity to extend our innovative global calling services with an industry leader that can leverage the power of our platform and network.”
Jajah launched in Austria in 2005, has a financial backing from Deutsche Telekom and Intel, Jajah’s user base has jumped from 2 million to 10 million in recent months, the startup reported.
“Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.”