Customer Story
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PhoneLiveStreaming Connects Isolated Communities to Live Events with SignalWire Voice
How a solo founder shipped a live-audio product in six hours and scaled it to 2.5 million minutes a month.
Abbi Minessale
Senior Product Marketing Manager
Overview
PhoneLiveStreaming delivers live audio from church and government events to isolated communities over ordinary phone lines. SignalWire provides a dedicated phone number for each of PhoneLiveStreaming's customers and handles the inbound and outbound calling, so listeners dial in or receive a call the moment a stream goes live.
The first version was built and launched within 24 hours, and the platform has scaled to 2.5 million minutes a month on SignalWire.
About PhoneLiveStreaming
PhoneLiveStreaming was started to reach elderly and rural communities who could not participate in church services because of poor internet access. Organizations send their live audio to PhoneLiveStreaming, which encodes it and makes it available on a dedicated phone number. Live Notifications automatically call subscribed listeners whenever a stream starts, or anyone can dial in on their own time. Every stream is recorded automatically, so listeners who missed the event can call in afterward and hear the most recent one.
"I was able to develop and ship the first version of PhoneLiveStreaming within 6 hours. Within 24 hours customers were signing up and using it."
David Plappert
Founder at PhoneLiveStreaming
The Challenge
PhoneLiveStreaming's goal was to include everyone in church and government proceedings, so that no one was left behind. Rural areas and elderly community members were routinely left out of live events by a lack of internet access or technical familiarity. The challenge was building a product that let isolated communities participate in live-streamed events with nothing more than the phone they already own.
The Solution
Dedicated SignalWire phone numbers connect each community to its own events. Every church and local government on the platform has a unique number, so calling in to a live stream is as familiar as calling a neighbor.
Inbound and outbound calling with high-quality audio runs on SignalWire as well. Listeners receive a call when a stream starts, or dial in whenever it suits them, and recordings are available by phone after the event.
Building the product took hours, not weeks. SignalWire Voice APIs gave PhoneLiveStreaming what it needed to launch within 24 hours, and the platform has scaled from zero to 2.5 million minutes a month on the same foundation as the company grows.
The Results
Dedicated phone numbers | Low-latency live streaming | Inbound and outbound calling | Scale without rewrites | Quick deployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Every customer gets a dedicated SignalWire number, giving congregations and communities one familiar way to tune in. | Quality audio streams live over the phone from PhoneLiveStreaming's encoders, and is recorded so communities can listen after the fact. | All calling runs on SignalWire; communities receive Live Notification calls when streams start, or dial in at their convenience. | The original codebase now pushes 2.5 million minutes a month, with SignalWire scaling as PhoneLiveStreaming grows. | The first version shipped in six hours, and PhoneLiveStreaming launched to paying customers within 24. |
"Using that same [original] code base, we push almost 2.5 million minutes a month through SignalWire. It's very scalable and very easy to do proof of concept and implementation in it."
David Plappert
Founder at PhoneLiveStreaming
How can people listen to a live stream without internet access?
PhoneLiveStreaming makes live event audio available on an ordinary phone call. Each church or local government gets a dedicated phone number powered by SignalWire, and listeners dial in from any telephone, landline or mobile, with no internet or app required.
How fast can you build a voice product on SignalWire?
PhoneLiveStreaming's founder developed and shipped the first version in six hours, and customers were signing up within 24. The same original codebase now carries 2.5 million minutes a month.
What volume can SignalWire Voice APIs handle?
PhoneLiveStreaming runs 2.5 million minutes a month through SignalWire without rewriting its original code. Across its customer base, SignalWire carries billions of minutes and messages annually.
How do Live Notifications work?
When a stream goes live, SignalWire's outbound calling automatically rings every subscribed listener and connects them to the audio. Anyone who misses the call can dial the dedicated number afterward and hear the most recent recorded event.
Can callers listen to an event after it ends?
Yes. PhoneLiveStreaming records every stream automatically, and listeners can call the same dedicated number after the event to hear the most recent recording.
Who uses phone-based live streaming?
Churches and local governments use PhoneLiveStreaming to reach elderly and rural community members with limited internet access or technical familiarity. Live services, city meetings, and public events all stream over the channel these communities already know: the telephone.
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