Internet Phone Maker Aims to Link Callers From Vietnam, Little Saigon
Irvine-based Twister Networks Inc. is looking to hook up callers from Vietnam and the U.S. via phones that use the Internet.
Last month Twister signed a pact with VASC, a state-owned software and media unit of Vietnam Post and Telecommunica-tions, to offer phones and services in Vietnam.
Twister makes and sells phones that route calls over the Internet rather than phone lines.
Company officials say they plan to open three stores and a warehouse in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest city. Twister’s Vietnam distributor plans to open a store in the next 30 days, according to the company.
Stores also could open in Hue in central Vietnam and in Hanoi, the capital.
Here in Orange County, Twister officials also touted the opening of a store in Garden Grove, called Nettel, which sells Twister’s phones and service.
A group of Little Saigon investors owns Nettel.
Internet phones work like standard phones. But rather than using phone lines, they connect to a network card or universal serial bus on a computer to make long-distance connections via the Internet.
The technology is known as voice over Internet protocol.
Both callers must have a Twister phone to connect.
Vietnam doesn’t have many high-speed Internet connections. But Twister officials say their phones work with dial-up Internet service, which is more common in Vietnam.
The company wanted a foothold for its product in Little Saigon, where long-distance calling to Vietnam is big business.
Twister said its products are a cheaper option to long-distance bills.
A pair of phones sells for $130. Twister, which trades on the low-profile Pink Sheets exchange, projects total sales of $3 million to $5 million in the next year.
The company has five workers and contracts out for production of its phones, which are assembled in the U.S. and China.
Company officials also hope to crack the Chinese market, though that isn’t expected to happen for some time.
The company earlier this year hired Shanghai’s Ascot Chase to help find distributors in China’s provinces.
,Chris Cziborr
