Bandwidth > Case Studies > Pinger Had a Novel Idea; Have Every App Download Come With Its Own Phone Number

Pinger Had a Novel Idea; Have Every App Download Come With Its Own Phone Number

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

Textfree
Bandwidth’s communications APIs

Tech Stack

VoIP
SMS
APIs

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Revenue Growth
Customer Satisfaction
Brand Awareness

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - API Integration & Management

Applicable Industries

Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Sales & Marketing
Business Operation

Use Cases

Voice Biometrics
Chatbots

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services
System Integration

About The Customer

Pinger is a leading provider of free texting services in the United States. Their apps have been downloaded over 50 million times, with over 15 billion text messages moving through their system. The company is more of a software company than a traditional telecom player. In 2010, Pinger had a novel idea to add voice services to their market-leading text free SMS application and offer each of their users their own phone number. The company was new to VoIP and had no volume yet, but they were looking for a partner willing to work with them so they could launch and scale their innovative app.

The Challenge

In 2010, Pinger, a leading free texting provider, wanted to add voice services to their market-leading text free SMS application. They aimed to offer each of their users their own phone number. However, being more of a software company than a traditional telecom player, Pinger needed a network partner that was flexible, agile, experienced, and creative enough to help them bring voice to life in their Textfree app. The challenge was that Pinger was new to VoIP and had no volume yet. They needed a partner willing to work with them so they could launch and scale their innovative app. Traditional larger incumbents were difficult to negotiate with due to Pinger's lack of existing voice minute volumes.

The Solution

Bandwidth, a communications API provider, partnered with Pinger to build the first version of Textfree with voice calling enabled and individual phone numbers provided to users. The Pinger and Bandwidth teams worked closely together, despite tight timelines and the platform being the first of its kind. Through rapid development and tight collaboration with Bandwidth, Pinger was able to launch Text Free with voice before the critical holiday season. Bandwidth's solutions are shaping the future of how we connect—with embedded voice and text for mobile apps and large scale enterprise level solutions. At the core of Bandwidth’s offering are communications APIs that allow companies to launch and scale next generation apps and solutions using the nation’s largest VoIP network.

Operational Impact

Pinger's Textfree application for Apple and Android devices surpassed Weather.com and Pandora in downloads in January 2011.
The Textfree app peaked at #2 in Apple’s App Store in the days leading up to Christmas.
Pinger used every one of the phone numbers delivered by Bandwidth.

Quantitative Benefit