Answer the Doorbell with a Mobile Phone

Dutch wireless start-up Waleli has announced plans to roll out its 'GSM doorbell' internationally, starting in northern Europe. Already on the market in the Netherlands, the Waleli GSM doorbell is a clever application for GSM mobile phone technology, allowing people to answer their doorbell, talk to visitors, and even open the door, whether they are at home or not. All via their mobile phones.

Waleli is in discussion with potential channel partners, and plans to start marketing the product outside the Netherlands later this year. In the Netherlands, the GSM doorbell is marketed via property developers and home security specialists, since the device is often linked with electronic door systems.

"We're starting in northern Europe first, due to the cultural openness of using wireless technology in daily life. However, we expect that interest will grow quickly throughout Europe and further across the globe, as residents become conscious of the advantages of connecting their front door to their mobile phone," states Lawrence Masle, Head of International Business Development.

How the Waleli GSM doorbell works

The GSM Doorbell looks like any other doorbell you might find on a house. When a caller pushes the GSM Doorbell, it rings the resident's mobile phone via the mobile phone network. The visitor can talk to the resident via the small intercom panel next to the bell push. The GSM doorbell can also be linked to an electronic door release, allowing the resident to unlock the front door from the mobile phone keypad, using a secret code.

"The GSM doorbell gives people the peace of mind that comes from knowing when someone is at the door, when they are not at home," said Siete Hamminga, founder and MD of Waleli.

"But users are finding practical everyday benefits as well. If your children come home from school unexpectedly early, for example, you can let them in without having to rush home and open the door.

"And if a courier arrives with a delivery that must be signed for, when you're not at home, a direct voice connection with the courier enables you to give the courier detailed delivery instructions such as a different address to deliver to or another day when you will definitely be there. There's no need to miss the delivery just because you're not there."

One of the regional health authorities in the Netherlands is trialling the Waleli GSM Doorbell as a way of allowing nurses to respond more quickly to calls from home patients without first having to drive to a central key-holding depot to collect a front door key. In this trial, when the nurse arrives at the patient's front door and presses the GSM doorbell, the call is taken by the regional call centre, and the operator will be able to open the door. This approach saves important time in responding to emergency calls from house-bound patients.

When the householder is at home and doesn't need the GSM mobile functionality, the GSM doorbell can be switched to normal doorbell mode with a single keypush.