Roamer

Roamer, founded in London in 2013 by Nick Ustinov and Petr Antropov, developed a mobile application aimed at significantly reducing international roaming charges for travelers. Simon Rabin later joined to spearhead financing and marketing efforts for the company. The firm's core service allowed users to link their regular mobile number to a local SIM card in their destination country, a process that could cut roaming costs by as much as 97%. Roamer's technology also supported making calls over Wi-Fi with the user's own number, offering a more convenient alternative to traditional VoIP services that often require both parties to use the same app.

The business model centered on the mobile application, which was available for iOS and Android devices. To use the service, a traveler would 'park' their number in the Roamer app before their trip, acquire a local prepaid SIM card upon arrival, and then activate their original number through the app to make and receive calls at lower rates. This functionality was available in over 200 countries. The company's financial strategy included securing angel funding, with an initial round of $450,000 in December 2013, followed by a larger seed round of $1.3 million in July 2014, which included investment from Richard Frank, co-founder of Dial-a-Phone. At that time, Roamer reported a 40% increase in call usage over the preceding three months and announced plans to introduce a SIM delivery service.

Keywords: mobile roaming, international calls, VoIP, travel technology, roaming charges, local SIM, cost reduction, telecommunications app, international travel, mobile application, call forwarding, travel SIM, global communication, Nick Ustinov, Petr Antropov, Simon Rabin, Dial-a-Phone, roaming solution, travel tech.