Israeli cellular device makes international debut
Philippine telecommunications giant to market device with one million dollar campaign
A cellular device created by an Israeli start-up venture is to be the first marketed by an international company, its creator announced over the weekend.
The international firm, Globe Telecom, said it would distribute the Modu device, which was developed by a start up company headed by Dov Moran.
Globe Telecom, the second largest telecommunications company in the Philippines, declared $650 million in earnings during the first half of 2009.
The program is said to include a subscription-based membership, subsidization of device costs, and a marketing campaign that, according to estimates, will reach approximately one million dollars.
Cellcom, the Israeli cellular company, was the first to launch a pilot program of the device. A full launch is expected later this year.
"The philippines are a huge market of 88 million people who have yet to shift into the third generation," noted Dov Moran, the founder and GM of Modu. "Globe is willing to go far in order to market the Modu device, and is investing large sums in television commercials and newspaper ads".
The agreement with Globe Telecom is a product of an earlier contract signed this year between Modu and Link, an Asian telephone distribution company, to distribute Modu among East Asian cellular companies.
Modu's earnings will depend on the success if its sales, although they are being estimated at millions of dollars.
As for launching the product in the US, Japan, and Europe, Moran says, "We will get there full force only after we come out with a third generation device. These countries have no interest in promoting a second generation cellular device. Obviously we are working on a third generation cell phone. All I can say is that it will be launched during 2010. we have been working for years in order to build a larger company, but there are always bumps in the road."
