The New Year is a time for reflection for me. It gives me an opportunity to think about where I've been, and where I want to go in the future. I'd like to invite you to look back with me at the moment that inspired the founding of iCall. I hope it helps you understand our vision for the company and where we'd like to go from here in the New Year.

It was 2005, and I was traveling in London when I realized something that changed the course of my career (and "Andy's":http://www.icall.com/about/team!). I had tried to keep in touch with my family back home and unknowingly accrued $6 per minute in phone charges. I was shocked by the fees and immediately looked into alternatives that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg.

What I realized was that even services that described themselves as "free VoIP solutions" were riddled with hidden connection charges and taxes that were not disclosed clearly.

The experience of feeling disconnected from my family because of outrageous fees ultimately led to the creation of iCall. I met up with my good friend Andy Muldowney and found that we shared the same belief: the average phone call was just too expensive.

In the last five years, we've been leading a "free-call revolution." Our goal is to expand our services so that eventually no one will have to pay for a phone call. We've made a lot of progress since our founding in 2005, and we are looking forward to what 2011 has in store.