The Coronavirus got most of the world stuck in their homes, but many first responders did not
have the opportunity to stay back with their friends and family, and instead had to get to work.
Additionally, there were a lot of people who were studying or working in other countries, who did
not receive a lot of warning when the borders shut, and so remained stranded away from their
folks, which was very difficult. While many people looked at their situations as a positive thing,
saying at least, they didn’t have the opportunity of spreading it to friends and family, others
started feeling homesick.
The internet allows anyone with a phone and a good internet connection to connect with another
person who might be, half or the full way around the world. This, however, did get tricky in many
parts of the world, without proper internet. In India, for example, while about 80% of the country is
on the web, only 20% of them use fibre lines, with the rest using their mobile internet data. This
can be quite challenging for communication, especially on data-heavy apps like Zoom, Skype or
Hangouts, since the network drops often.
The only workaround to this problem seems to be regular international calls, and those were not
well priced. With the introduction of ‘just call abroad’, people could now make calls around the
world, at prices that weren’t that high. In most cases, depending on the countries that they were
calling from, people were spending amounts similar to regular local calls.
How did this new platform benefit India?
With an unstable internet and inability to receive good reception in the country, people were
forced to make regular, cheap international calls to India. The best part about these calls was that
they could be handled directly through phones, which was a blessing for people who were
constantly on the move since it was a lot easier to handle calls when moving, as compared to
online calls with poor network.
Much like India, cheap calls to U.S.A., and other parts of the world we a significant positive,
allowing people to get in touch with others around the planet. This was beneficial since a large
part of the Indian subcontinent is in the U.S.A. majorly for work, but with a significant number of
them, studying.
When the initial lockdown hit, with America being one of the worst countries affected, it was quite
difficult for people to wait for their respective countries to get them out. In times of great fear, all
anyone wants is to be surrounded by the people closest to them, and that is what this platform
managed to achieve, allowing everyone to feel safe, talking to the people closest to them.
What are the changes made to the platform?
Everyday updates are being made to the platform, with the addition of new locations and
encrypted lines, allowing a lot more people to benefit from using it and keeping the world
connected and a very reasonable price point.
