As the outbreak of the coronavirus has grown and the government’s restrictions have correspondingly tightened, more and more people have moved to remote work. While we’re happy to be helping so many people with the transition at this uncertain time, the demand for our Pro plan has outstripped the capacity to provide the 03 custom numbers it includes. As a result, we will no longer be able to offer the next 3 months free on the Pro plan.
Nevertheless, the new discount codes PLUSMONTHLYTILJULY and PLUSANNUALTILJULY will replace the previous codes so that users can still sign up to the Plus plan at no cost until July, making tonnes of brilliant features available. That way, newly remote workers and seasoned telecommuters alike will be able to work efficiently from home during self-isolation without having to pay a penny.
Note: this offer does not apply to our ‘Go Large’ add-ons.
Exponential increases in demand
We’re definitely not alone in seeing a huge jump in demand. As people head into self-quarantine in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, mobile networks and Internet services across the board have felt the effects.
UK telecoms networks have certainly come under strain. Providers including EE and O2 have suffered network issues (as you can see here and here), resulting in problems for users across the country.
Communications over Internet have not been exempt, either. The servers for Whatsapp and Facebook were recently described as having gone into ‘meltdown’, and Mark Zuckerberg had to more than double capacity to deal with demand.
In fact, Internet issues during the coronavirus outbreak have been extensive around the world. Many sectors have felt the impact, from gaming to streaming. Steam recently broke its own user record of 20 million. Netflix has had to reduce its network traffic, something mirrored by other streaming platforms including Apple+, Amazon Prime and YouTube.
Surge in WHYPAY? conference calls
Here at WHYPAY?, we’ve also seen massive increases in demand. To give you a sense of just how massive we’re talking, this graph illustrates our call volume over the past 90 days:
To keep up with this demand, and ensure we continue to provide high-quality and reliable teleconferences, we’ve repeatedly upped our own capacity. In fact, we’re now operating with 20 times the network capacity we had in place just last Monday. And it seems to be working – if you look at our Trustpilot page, users are really finding WHYPAY? a useful, simple, and reliable service. Hearing that we’re alleviating some of the stress hitting us all right now is truly rewarding. That’s why we’ve wanted to keep offering both paid plans free until July for as long as possible. But in order to ensure we do keep providing a stellar service, we will now have to limit the offer to only the Plus plan.
Why is the Pro plan especially affected?
This isn’t simply because the Pro plan is more expensive, and we aren’t willing to miss out on those fees. It’s because a key part of the custom branding which the Pro plan offers is a custom 03 number.
These custom 03 numbers have a separate cap in quantity than our other 03 dial-in numbers and one which would require 90 days to increase. Call volumes on these custom numbers have increased ten-fold since the coronavirus outbreak has led people into self-quarantine. As a result, we’re nearing the network capacity for these particular numbers much more rapidly than anticipated.
Why will the Plus plan remain free for the next 3 months?
While we really regret these capacity dimensioning issues, we’re still really keen to make this time as easy and seamless as possible. We’re really proud of our free plan, and know that it meets many people’s needs perfectly.
But we also know there are groups who are new to conference calling, who wouldn’t normally opt to hold a conference call, and who might have special requirements which can be better met with some of the features on the Plus plan.
For example, the advanced muting controls included in the Plus plan can make conference calls much more effective for religious or educational purposes. Many churches have found WHYPAY? a great tool as attendants are asked to stay home. It’s really simple, easy and free to use. It doesn’t require any special equipment, or even an Internet connection. That makes it perfect for people who might not be very tech-savvy.
It’s also a brilliant way to provide distance-learning during the coronavirus outbreak. But church-goers and students shouldn’t have to pay to join. Nor should religious leaders or teachers incur expenses to continue doing their jobs and providing the important guidance they offer. That’s why WHYPAY? is the perfect solution.
At the same time, large groups can bring lots of background noise, even inadvertently. And children who are suddenly attending classes from home might not be the most settled and tranquil of students. Being able to have a little control over who’s muted when can make a world of difference.
We want to make sure that all groups can still stay in touch and make the most of conference calling, which is why we’re determined to continue to provide our Plus plan for free until July.
Sign up to WHYPAY? today
Whether you’re just trying to fight loneliness during the coronavirus outbreak, you have a pre-existing group to keep running, you’re trying to maintain educational instruction, or you want to keep offering religious guidance and comfort, WHYPAY? is a great tool in this age of social distancing.
Although we’re sad to have to remove the three month discount on our Pro plan, we have faith that many of you will find that WHYPAY? still fits your needs perfectly. If custom-branding wasn’t high on your list of priorities, either the free or the Plus package will likely be ideal for you.
Try it out today by hitting the button below, or visiting our homepage.
Create a FREE TeleconferenceAnd if you want to find out more, our blog and our helpdesk and good places to start. We’re also happy to answer any questions via live chat on the bottom right corner of the website, email ([email protected]), or telephone (033 3443 3366).