I-Corps: Phone Call Passport-A Smartphone Application to Allow Free Phone Calls

最近的调查显示，如今超过50%的美国人拥有一部或多部智能手机。在全球范围内，这一趋势只会加剧。例如，在印度这个最重要的智能手机市场之一，据报道，如今拥有智能手机的人数达到3.3亿。目前国际电话价格昂贵，无论是通过蜂窝网络还是通过Skype等其他服务，导致许多个人的费用过高，例如青少年或学生，或者使用超过允许限制的大量用户拨打固定电话和/或移动电话。作为替代方案，研究小组开发了一种智能手机应用程序（电话呼叫护照），允许国内外用户使用同级手机未使用的通话时间免费拨打或发送任何号码的短信。拟议的应用程序是基于这样一种想法，即从移动电话到固定电话和移动电话号码，通过蜂窝网络从国外拨打电话仍然非常昂贵。电话呼叫护照（PCP）程序使用PCP对等网络内其他电话的未使用分钟数。特别是，提供免费电话和短信的用户会因向希望在国外打电话和/或发短信的用户提供服务而获得奖励。奖励的形式可以是优惠券、免费通话时间，或者当他们希望使用对方通话时间自己打电话时，可以提供优惠。这个项目创造了一个全新的途径来利用手机的免费通话时间。随着智能手机市场和VoIP技术的急剧增长，对商业产生了重大影响。该团队将设计用户友好的跨平台应用程序，以启用电话呼叫护照，广泛测试和验证它，并为传播和商业化创造机会。

Recent surveys indicate that more than 50 % of the US population today owns one or more smart-phones. Across the globe this trend is only increasing. For example, in India, one of the most significant smart-phone markets, the number of owners today is reported to be 330M. Currently international calls are expensive, whether through a cellular network or other services like Skype, resulting in prohibitive costs for many individuals, such as teenagers or students or high volume users who would use more than the allowed limit to call landlines and/or mobile phones. As an alternative, the research team has developed a smartphone application (Phone Call Passport) which allows users abroad and at home to call or text message any number for free using unused minutes available at peer phones. The proposed application is based on the idea that performing phone calls from mobile phones to landline and mobile numbers through the cellular network is still extremely expensive when performed from abroad. Phone Call Passport (PCP) program uses unused minutes available at other phones within the PCP peer network. In particular, users that provide free phone calls and text messages receive a reward for the services they offer to users wanting to call and/or text abroad. The reward can be in the form of coupons, free minutes or preferences when they wish to use peer minutes to make calls themselves. This project creates a radical new avenue to exploit free minutes at phones. With the dramatic increase in smart-phone markets and VoIP technologies, there is a significant commercial impact. The team will design user-friendly cross platforms apps to enable Phone Call Passport, extensively test and validate it, and create opportunities for dissemination and commercialization.