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The CradlePoint CTR350 Mobile Broadband Travel Router instantly creates a Wi-Fi hotspot that any Wi-Fi enabled device can connect to—laptop, camera, PDA, etc. The CTR350 then connects those devices to the Internet via mobile broadband, providing high-speed web access virtually anywhere. In addition, it can also connect to the internet via a DSL or Cable broadband modem. |
CradlePoint Enables Ooma Phone Calls at Retail Kiosks
CTR350 Mobile Broadband Travel Router Provides Broadband Web Access for Ooma's VOIP Phone Service at Fry's, Best Buy and Other Retail Sites
Situation:
Ooma allows users to simply plug their existing home phone into an ooma unit connected to a broadband Internet connection and they’re able to make unlimited free calls in the U.S. using ooma’s advanced Voice Over IP (VOIP) technology. Ooma offers two important advantages compared to other VOIP offerings: 1) superior voice quality and 2) no monthly service fees. Ooma’s Chief Marketing Officer, Rich Buchanan, puts it this way: “Just as consumers transformed the functionality of their television through TiVo® and their music with the iPod, they can reinvent the way they use their home phone with an ooma system.”
Challenge:
Ooma wanted potential buyers to experience the ooma quality advantage for themselves. They decided to put kiosks with ooma units in retail sites like Fry’s and Best Buy so shoppers could make actual phone calls using the ooma solution. However, getting access to each store’s network/broadband Internet service was almost impossible. What’s more, provisioning separate DSL lines in multiple stores across multiple states promised to be a costly and time-consuming process:
- Hassles of coordinating with multiple phone companies in multiple states
- Delays waiting for phone companies to send field technicians to the retail sites
- Hours wasted sending representatives to store sites to wait all morning/afternoon for field technicians on the day of DSL installation (most phone companies won’t specify a time when they will be on-site)
- Coordinating with each store manager to ensure ooma’s operations didn’t interfere with the store’s existing IT infrastructure
- Expense of Installation and setup costs for each site
Solution:
Ooma turned to CradlePoint and the CTR350 Mobile Broadband Travel Router. Ooma’s retail field force vendor, ChannelForce, had been using CradlePoint solutions for ad hoc demonstrations in stores. “The ChannelForce demonstrations were so successful, we decided to expand the demos and formalize the process so that we could reach more shoppers,” explains ooma’s VP of Marketing, Tami Bhaumik.
Ooma ran tests in Los Angeles and Texas markets to evaluate how a self-serve kiosk featuring the ooma unit—with Internet connectivity provided by a CradlePoint router—would work. The tests were successful and now ooma has self-service kiosks in 70 Fry’s and Best Buy stores. Each kiosk contains a standard phone plugged into an ooma unit. The ooma unit is connected to a CTR350, which is hidden inside the kiosk. The CTR350 accesses the Internet via a USB modem and Sprint’s mobile broadband network.
Benefits:
“The self-serve kiosks give us the opportunity to change minds at the point of purchase,” Tami says. “They’ve had a tremendous impact on sales. For example, at one store, weekly sales have increased over 300%.”
Tami continues: “With the CradlePoint, a kiosk is basically a self-contained unit that is literally plug-and-play. We don’t have to deal with the store or IT issues at all. It’s made our merchandising strategy very easy to implement.”
- Easy. “[The CTR350] really is plug-and-play,” Tami reports. “It has to be in order to make it workable for the retail environment.”
- Reliable. “The CradlePoint is 100% reliable,” reports Tami. “It just works, which is critical because there is no one manning the kiosk. It has to stand on its own. The only issue we sometimes run into is if a store employe accidentally unplugs the entire kiosk. Even then, once it’s plugged back in, the CradlePoint starts right up an everything returns to normal. Plus, [the CTR350] has remote management, so we can remotely ping each display to make sure it’s working.”
- Affordable. “The CradlePoint was not the cheapest,” notes Tami. “But it’s really the most cost-effective solution because of its reliability. We can’t afford to have downtime. ”
- Performance. “We’re showcasing the voice quality of our product,” says Tami, “so it’s critical that the CradlePoint provide maximum performance. CradlePoint’s VOIP optimization technology, combined with ooma’s optimization technology, deliver one great experience for in-store customers.”
Tami summarizes her thoughts on the CradlePoint solution: “If we were doing this all over, we’d choose CradlePoint routers again in a heartbeat. We have not had a problem. If you want reliability and fail-safe Internet service for your retail kiosk, use a CradlePoint router. ”
