Mobile VoIP provider fring has successfully completed second round funding. The round was led by North Bridge Venture Partners, joined by VenFin and current investors Pitango Venture Capital and Veritas Venture Partners. Fring says the companies are not disclosing any financial details regarding the investment.
The additional funding will be used to support the growing fring community that already includes active users in more than 150 countries worldwide. Funds will also be used to further enhance the user experience with more mobile VoIP functionality; a greater choice of call and chat providers in addition to the current Skype, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ and SIP: and wider network coverage beyond the current 3G/GPRS/EDGE/Wi-Fi and EVDO/CDMA access. fring will also be made available to a wider market by expanding the set of compatible handsets beyond the 350-plus Symbian Nokia, Windows Mobile and UIQ Sony Ericsson devices currently supported.
This funding will help us to continue enriching the mobile Internet communication experience that has made fring a popular communication alternative says fring C0-founder and CEO, Avi Shechter. We are excited and committed to providing fringsters with even greater freedom to communicate with all their phone or PC buddies with the open choices, rich features and cost savings that mobile VoIP can afford.
Jamie Goldstein, General Partner at North Bridge Venture Partners, who has also joined frings board of directors, adds:
We believe fring has developed the right balance in providing users with freedom of communication choice, together with the right business strategy to realise the inevitable market potential that mobile VoIP will deliver.
fring is a free, downloadable mobile phone application enabling free mVoIP (mobile VoIP) calls, real-time presence and live chat with multiple IM providers over mobile data networks or a wi-fi connection.
The fring mVoIP application offers all mobile phone and Smartphone users real mobile independence, the company says. It allows them to roam freely between wireless networks (GPRS, 3G, wi-fi), and enjoy the benefits of multiple IM and SIP providers from one integrated contact list.
fring users – fringsters – can mobile VoIP talk and real-time chat for free from their mobile handsets with other fring users, landlines or cellular phones using Skype-out and SIP providers, as well as PC contacts through Skype, Google Talk, MSN Messenger, ICQ and Twitter. 
