Case Study: Tesco Internet Phone powered by the Voicedot White Label Solution

Tesco is one of the leading supermarket retailers in the United Kingdom and renowned worldwide for its retail expertise, deep customer insight and innovative approaches to generating new revenue streams from Tesco’s established brand and distribution channel. When Tesco began exploring internet telephony product options it rapidly became clear that partnering with an internet telephony expert was the most effective route to market. After considering potential partners around the globe, Tesco selected the Voicedot white label solution to rebrand and market to Tesco customers. Tesco was impressed by the consumer-ready retail product range combined with end-to-end back end technical and business systems to support rapid launch.

The Voicedot-compatible Tesco Internet Phone was launched in January 2006 and was an instant success. Tesco rebrands Voicedot-compatible internet phones for sale to consumers, uses the Voicedot network to provided free internet calls between Voicedot compatible internet phones, and uses Voicedot infrastructure and billing systems to provide highly competitive call rates to traditional landline and mobile phones anywhere in the world (where the ‘last step’ is outside the Voicedot internet-enabled network). By the end of 2006 the Tesco Internet Phone accounted for 80 per cent of all internet phone products sold in the UK. Based on the phenomenal first year commercial success, Tesco launched a major marketing campaign in 2007 for the Tesco Internet Phone supported by the Voicedot white label leading-edge billing system and promotional system and continues to be one of the fastest-growing and most commercially successful internet phone virtual network operators in Europe.

Leveraging the powerful economies of the Voicedot white label solution, new Tesco internet phone monthly price plans launched in September 2007 represent some of the best value in the UK market. The plans include unlimited anytime UK calls for just £5 a month and unlimited anytime international calls for just £8.50 a month. The market-leading call plans are challenging traditional providers – at the time of launch the same £8.50 would buy a 13 minute call to Thailand with competitor, BT Together1.

1 Call rates compared with BT Together based on a Sept 2007 daytime rate of £0.68 per minute.