Jingle Networks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section was considered for deletion and requires cleanup per its AfD discussion. Please help improve this article to meet Wikipedia's quality standards or replace this tag with a more specific message. (help, talk) |
| Jingle Networks | |
 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 in Burlington, MA |
| Headquarters |  Menlo Park, CA, USA |
| Key people | George Garrick, President & CEO Scott Kliger, Founder & CTO |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Products | 1-800-FREE411 directory service |
| Website | www.free411.com |
Jingle Networks, Inc. is an American media network offering a free directory assistance service called 1-800-FREE411.
Consumers dial 1-800-FREE411 (1-800-373-3411) from any phone in the United States to use the toll-free service, which allows callers to obtain any residential, business, or government phone number for no charge. Sponsors cover the service cost by playing short advertising messages, about 12 seconds long, customized based on the number the customer is looking up. A consumer using the service to find a vendor may hear an ad from the vendor's competitor, which is more likely to be a national brand such as Domino's Pizza or 1-800-Flowers. Not every call plays an ad. When consumers connect to the number they have looked up, the service gives the business the consumer's information so that they may be contacted later.
Like Skype, Jingle Networks aims at attracting customers away from an existing fee-based market. The Wall Street Journal described it as "inspired by the business model of Google".[1]
[edit] Corporate overview
The corporation was formed in 2005, and within one year Jingle Networks has claimed over 3% [citation needed] of the total U.S. 411 calls (a $5-$7 billion market)[citation needed]. As of November 2006, over 4 million customers use the service monthly.[citation needed] Customers who do not use a free service typically pay $1 to $2 to place each 411 call.
On October 23, 2006, Jingle Networks announced that it raised $30 million in third round financing from Goldman Sachs and Hearst Corporation.
[edit] Competitors
inFreeDA offers free directory assistance for users who call 1-800-411-METRO. Easy411.com offers directory assistance via 1-877-Easy411 for a fee of 65 cents per call instead of playing advertisements. There are also several services that offer free 411 information using text messaging. Google offers such a service with their Google Mobile site.
