Bubbletone, a blockchain-based global telecom startup, has successfully raised $8.60 million through an ICO. The investors will receive Universal Mobile Tokens (UMT) by July 10. The exciting product offered by Bubbletone is a roaming-free SIM card, which is being tested in the US and Europe.
Baltic Clementvale LTD, a Bubbletone affiliate has also received an MVNO license from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The license enables Bubbletone to structure its own offers for clients in the European market of telecommunication services. UMT token holders will be able to benefit from these offers.
Travellers often have to shed a huge amount to use roaming services. This discourages them to contact their loved ones frequently. Bubbletone resolves this issue by allowing travellers to directly connect to local networks without a need to change their SIM cards. The telecom company also avoids intermediates, thereby making the service cost-effective. By bringing together mobile operators and specialized service providers, Bubbletone ensures that mobile users will be able to avail top-quality communications facility upon arrival in another country, without wasting time on a trip to a local mobile shop. Bubbletone has incorporated blockchain technology to complete client identification process automatically.
The founders of Bubbletone have already showcased the project in over 30 of the largest industry events across the world. This includes Digital Transformation Forum in Nice, the MVNO World Congress in Madrid, Coindesk Consensus Conference in New York, 121 Tech Investment in Hong Kong, London Blockchain week, and many others.
Joakim Holmer, Advisor to Bubbletone, allcoinWiki co-founder and former senior executive at Ericsson, said
“As I advise many great ICOs, I have seen the market become more competitive month by month. Unlike at the beginning of the year, now only the truly great projects make it. I see something very positive for an industry moving to ICO Generation 2.0. I am also happy to see that crowdsale participants valued Bubbletone’s existing business performance and leadership by contributing $8.6 million to the project.”
To offer roaming-free SIM card, Bubbletone has entered into partnerships with several companies. This includes a cooperating agreement with ShoCard, a startup which is creating a digital identification system. ShoCard encrypts and stores the personal data of the users in the blockchain, eliminating the risk that may arise due to data loss by a third-party. Bubbletone has also signed an agreement with DeHedge, a blockchain project that provides a platform to hedge investment risks that may arise from distribution ledger technology related projects.
Interestingly, Bubbletone has cleared all the compliance assessments. Therefore, its clients can purchase secure UMT tokens without any limitations. The company has also entered into a swap agreement with Kasko2Go-a blockchain based car insurance service provider. Kasko2Go offers two kinds of services: cheap insurance to responsible car drivers and high-risk client identification technology to insurance companies. Under the swap agreement, Kasko2Go bought $1 million worth UMT tokens, while Kasko2Go clients will be able to use the Bubbletone’s international mobile communication services.
Commenting on the project, Anders Larsson, Advisor to Bubbletone, ex-Ericsson VP, and co-founder of allcoinWiki, said
“In Q2 2018 we reached 7.9 billion mobile subscriptions vs. 7.6 billion people on the planet. 85% of all phones sold today in the world are smartphones. 4G is already bigger than fixed Internet. Even with 5G and IoT entering the scene, what I am most excited about right now is adding blockchain. Bubbletone is merging these technologies, and as a project advisor I was not surprised to see the token sale completed successfully despite the tough ICO market. I’m truly excited about the next steps!”
Bubbletone is also planning to list its UMT tokens on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges. The exchanges which have been finalized so far are HitBTC and Exrates. These two exchanges are expected to list UMT tokens from July onwards. Additionally, the tokens will also be made available in Bancor decentralized network. Bubbletone has stated that it is working on the blockchain component of the messenger. The company is also planning to sign up agreements with mobile operators across the globe and enter into a partnership with NDA platform.
Bubbletone founder Yury Morozov stated
“Our blockchain technology is already fully operable and is currently undergoing load testing. We are seeing growing interest in our project from the biggest global players in telecommunications. […] The ICO was only the first step. We will continue actively developing our product, holding negotiations with possible partners and cooperating with mobile operators all over the world.”
On July 12, Bubbletone’s team will give a speech about the capability of blockchain technology as well as its proprietary blockchain app in bringing about a transformation in telecommunication at a meeting with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva. The event will be attended by top level executives of big multinational mobile operators and government authorities.
