Market Overview: Browser-Based VoIP Calling (WebRTC → PSTN)

This document summarizes the current landscape for browser-based calling products (WebRTC in the browser, PSTN termination via a telecom provider) and identifies where Mobayilo can differentiate.

Executive summary

The market splits into consumer (free/freemium + pay-as-you-go credits) and business (UCaaS/contact-center style subscriptions).
For speed-to-market, the most replicable path is the pay-as-you-go credit wallet model with a browser dialer and a PSTN gateway (e.g., Twilio).
Durable differentiation is less about “WebRTC calling” (now a commodity) and more about trust + billing correctness + support + admin controls + team governance.

Market segments

1) Free / freemium consumer calling

Common traits:

Free calls with restrictions (ads, time limits, limited daily calls).
Minimal onboarding (often no registration or no phone verification). Pros:
Low friction acquisition. Cons:
Monetization pressure; quality, reliability, and anti-abuse are hard.

Examples (from research):

Globfone (ad-supported/free with limits)
PopTox (limited daily free calls, no registration)
iEvaphone (few short free calls per day)

2) Pay-as-you-go / credit-based consumer calling (direct MVP shape)

Common traits:

Users purchase credits and are charged per minute (or per second).
Low complexity product that can scale with good billing + anti-fraud. Pros:
Simple mental model; fast to ship. Cons:
Price competition; margin pressure; fraud/abuse risk.

Examples (from research):

dasfone (credit-based, sign-up bonus, $5 minimum)
Call2Friends (low rates for some destinations, free recording)
Localphone (very low minimum purchase)
CallGlobe (higher pricing, subscription option with bonuses)

3) Business / enterprise (UCaaS + contact-center)

Common traits:

Seats/subscriptions, compliance, integrations (CRMs/helpdesks), analytics.
Governance: teams, roles, budgets, and policies. Pros:
Higher willingness to pay; lower churn when embedded in workflows. Cons:
Longer sales cycle, more features expected, higher support burden.

Examples (from research):

JustCall (AI features, integrations; subscription)
Zadarma (Cloud PBX; broader telephony suite)

4) Hybrid models

Common traits:

A “free core” plus paid PSTN add-ons, or app-first with web support. Pros:
Strong distribution (existing ecosystems). Cons:
Hard to compete head-on as a new entrant.

Examples (from research):

Google Voice (free US calls; paid business tiers)
Microsoft Teams/Skype (collab first; PSTN add-ons)
Rebtel (hybrid routing; often app-focused)

Competitive dynamics

Pricing pressure

Observed range in the research (varies heavily by destination):

Very low: ~0.5¢/min to USA (aggressive, likely subsidized or optimized routes)
Common: ~$0.02/min for some destinations among consumer credit-based services
High: ~$0.20/min (positioned differently or with different cost structure)

Implication for Mobayilo:

Competing purely on lowest headline rate is risky; prefer transparent pricing + predictable billing + “no surprises” trust.
Where possible, bundle value (support, better UX, team governance) rather than racing to the bottom.

Technology parity

What is commoditized:

WebRTC dialers (browser calling) are standard.
PSTN termination via an API provider is standard.

Where differentiation still exists:

Connection success rates and call quality under real-world networks.
Fraud prevention (especially with low-friction signup).
Correct, explainable billing (idempotent webhooks, dispute tooling).
Team workflows (roles, budgets, reporting).

Differentiators seen in-market

From the research, common “hooks” include:

Low-friction onboarding (no phone verification).
Sign-up credits/bonuses.
Very low minimum purchases.
Free call recording (consumer-facing).
“AI features” (often sales/support oriented in business products).

Mobayilo’s positioning opportunities

Mobayilo is intentionally mobile-first and supports both individual and company/team wallets (company is MVP). This allows a differentiated wedge:

1) “Trustable pay-as-you-go” (individual)

Clear rate display before dialing.
Clear billing policy (per-minute vs per-second) and receipts.
Optional auto top-up with simple defaults (configurable for power users).

2) “Lightweight call-center wallet” (company/team) — MVP

Company wallet with minimum top-up ($100) and optional auto top-up.
Unlimited seats (employees), with passwordless magic-link onboarding.
Twilio numbers provisioned/managed by Mobayilo.
Shared number support with per-seat usage tracking (who initiated which calls).
Phase 2-ready: recordings + transcripts + analytics.

3) UX as a feature (mobile-first)

Thumb-friendly dialer, large tap targets, low cognitive load.
Fast “ready to call” state (token fetch + device ready).
Reliable status feedback (ringing/in-progress/ended) and clear recovery.

Go-to-market notes (practical)

Likely early adopters

Small support teams needing outbound calling without heavy UCaaS contracts.
Internationally distributed teams who need browser calling with controlled spend.

Suggested wedge

“Company wallet + seat tracking + shared numbers” is a strong wedge against purely consumer credit apps.
Keep the initial admin experience simple but correct: roles, call logs, spend by seat.

Risks and mitigations (MVP-aware)

Fraud/abuse: low-friction onboarding + stored cards increases risk → use rate limiting, velocity checks, and first-purchase guardrails.
Price/margin compression: destination pricing varies → implement rate tables and a configurable margin strategy.
Quality expectations: users compare against incumbent voice apps → invest early in call-state UX and support tooling.
Compliance (later): recording/transcripts add privacy/regulatory obligations → design data retention and permissions early even if feature ships later.

Recommendations for the MVP roadmap

Ship first successful call with clear status UI.
Ship top-up + correct ledger (no double charges; idempotent events).
Ship company wallet + seats + seat usage tracking (core differentiator).
Add auto top-up with safe defaults + explicit opt-in.
Prepare for Phase 2: recording/transcripts/analytics architecture (but don’t ship prematurely).