What Is Telcoin (TEL)?
Telcoin (TEL) is a decentralized financial platform run by active Telcoin users, GSMA mobile network providers, and instant finance providers. The platform aims to build decentralized applications and distribute them to mobile phone users globally with the help of telecom providers.
According to the website, Telcoin (TEL) takes advantage of blockchain technology and mobile financial structure to transfer funds worldwide instantly. The platform collaborates with mobile network operators and e-wallets worldwide to reach a wide range of users and give contactless service. Further, Telcoin aims to reduce the global average cost of transferring payments from 7% to 2%. To ensure complete security, Telcoin combines decentralization with a multi-signature security system as well.
TEL is the native utility ERC20token of the Telcoin platform and acts as a primary medium of exchange, reserve, and protocol asset. The token acts as the link between the users of the platform. The platform provides efficient delivery of affordable remittance service to the users by issuing the token based on the transaction volume and level of integration.
Telcoin chooses remittance because remittance is a huge addressable market ready for disruption. In 2016, remittance worldwide surpassed $500 billion, and despite this, the telecom industry has a minimal footprint in this space. Although many telecom mobile finance companies collaborated with foreign banks, the actual tapped potential of remittance remains less than 1%.
As stated in the whitepaper, Telcoin’s primary use case is giving prompt and inexpensive remittance to and from the mobile finance platform. This, in turn, becomes fruitful for the platform, as their popularity rises due to usage from Telcoin users. Another use case of Telcoin is giving interested people easy access to cryptocurrencies.
Telcoin also enables the purchase and transfer of airtime denominated in local currency; airtime means text and data promo offers and any prepaid voice services. Telcoin and other cryptocurrencies are spent in real time using the prepaid Visa card supported by selected ATMs and Visa networks. Other use cases include sharing game revenues with mobile operators by offering targeted SMS campaigns for promoting mobile games.
Telcoin also aims to provide tourists easy access to local currency, increasing the value of inbound and outbound roaming, increasing roaming revenues. Furthermore, Telcoin also delivers payment of funds to underfunded aid recipients. Knowing how these funds are used for noble causes, Telcoin prevents fraud by restricting disbursement to certain areas.
Lastly, since Telcoin wallets get linked to a user’s phone number, the remittance of funds is selected based on the destination country code and central bank requirements. Also, Telcoin uses smart contracts to automatize real-time revenue share for related Telcoin payments.
History of Telcoin (TEL)
Telcoin was launched by Claude Eguienta, the current CEO of the platform. Eguienta has experience in working with start-ups and large corporations. Before launching Telcoin, he was the lead systems architect at CyberAgent and cofounded a crypto start-up called Kabotip. He is also an advisor at TenX.
Paul Neuner is the cofounder and chairman of Telcoin and has been a tech entrepreneur for twenty years in the telecom field. In 2006, he founded a telecom fraud management company called Mobius, and today Mobius is installed at over thirty mobile operators worldwide.
Other members of the Telcoin team include Simo Kinnunen (lead developer), Adam Kull (lead mobile developer), Naim Boughazi (product director), Yacime Farouk (marketing director), Nobusuke Matsuoka (business development: telecom), Lee-Ann Cassie (regional manager, Africa), Alix Zerd (business development, crypto), Eric Chung (executive director), and Christopher Rizanow (community manager).
How Is TEL Created?
The issuance of the TEL token is structured and based on rules, and TEL is issued to monetize market participants to provide decentralized services to the Telcoin platform. The idea behind offering economic incentives is to motivate future participants to contribute to the platform and maintain the ecosystem. All active users provide services to benefit the platform, the ecosystem, and all the partner exchanges for issuance and transaction fees.
The maximum total supply of TEL tokens is 100,000,000,000 coins, and 25% of the total supply will be distributed during the initial coin offering (ICO). This 25% of the total supply is reserved for Telecoin’s ICO contributors and will be distributed through general crowd sales and bonuses allocated for them.
