Archive for the ‘blog’ Category
Friday, September 26th, 2008
Here at Rebtel we get a lot of emails (with emphasize on a lot) from users around the world telling us what they think about what we do and most importantly; how we do it.
To be perfectly honest with you (and I’m saying this with the most humble tone of voice possible), a great majority of these emails say that we are really great. Just like everyone else we enjoy getting these kind of emails so by all means, please continue sending them 
Although, every once in a while we do hear from people that aren’t as “happy go-lucky” as the other guy and don’t really feel like showering us with compliments. This is also totally cool with us.
The point is that regardless if you guys have something good or bad to say about us we still really want to hear about it. What’s more important, we want everybody else to hear about it as well. If you believe that we have solved a problem for you and made your life a tiny bit easier we want to make that publicly available for everyone to see.
With that said, we invite you to log on to www.getsatisfaction.com/rebtel and write something, good or bad, about Rebtel. It doesn’t have to be an academic essay with some in-depth analysis, a few sentences will do the trick and in return we will be eternally grateful
Have a great weekend guys!
Posted in blog | 1 Comment »
Friday, September 12th, 2008
It’s Friday today and yet another Rebtel week is coming to an end. It’s quite the cliché but I must say that it’s always surprising when you wake up on a Friday morning and it feels like Monday was just yesterday. I guess that’s what working in a fast paced start-up environment does to your time perception
Now that we have the debacle with German giants O2 behind us (water under the bridge guys, we don’t like to hold grudges) I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about our new Tell-a-Friend program.
For those of you that don’t know what the Tell-a-Friend program is, allow me to briefly “tell” the story. Tell-a-Friend is located on our website on the “Invites” tab under “My Rebtel”. On this page you can import email addresses from friends, family or business acquaintances and send them personalized invites to join you and the rest of the cool people in the Rebtel community. As of right now, you can import contacts from your Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail, Windows Live (formerly known as Hotmail) and LinkedIn accounts. We constantly look to add new import sources as all of us have our contacts stored in a variety of locations.
Those were the technicalities; let’s proceed to the fun bit
For the first 20 friends that you send an invitation to that decides to sign up because they think Rebtel sounds like a pretty sweet service (partially because you are using it), your account will be credited with 10 minutes of free calling (remember that they have to make a call to someone for you to get those minutes).
So what now, does it end here you might think? It certainly doesn’t!
With the new Tell-a-Friend, you are not only able to earn minutes, you can also earn dollars (yes, dollars). For the first 20 friends of yours that signs up through your invite and makes a payment to their Rebtel accounts you will receive $10. Yes, you heard right, $10.
So what’s the conclusion from all this? Well, if you haven’t contributed to a better world with a good deed today, this is the perfect opportunity. Give a friend the opportunity of calling someone they like for only a couple of cents instead of a couple of dollars. To get going with Tell-a-Friend you are just one click away.
From me and the rest of the Rebtel Team, have a great weekend!
Ps. Your friends get 20 minutes of free calls by signing up through your Tell-a-friend invitation, now that is a good deed..
Posted in blog | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008
Dear friends,
Victory!
Rebtel is officially back in town and we’re planning on staying for a loooong time without any unexpected interruptions Everyone at Rebtel has been working frantically on the O2 case the last couple of weeks and we are unbelievably happy to announce that as of this afternoon, we are no longer blocked by O2 in Germany.
First off, we want to thank all of our users for the massive support and help during the past couple of weeks. Without your personal support, blogging, Tweets, Diggs, Facebook status messages, emails to O2’s CEO and phone calls to their support staff we could never have made our voice loud enough for O2 to hear us. With the Rebtel community being able to come to terms with O2 on this matter we have proved that together we are strong. We held our ground and the persistency surely paid off.
We will continue to update our blog with the latest news so to make sure to add our feed to your RSS reader or simply bookmark http://blog.rebtel.com. To see the press release in full, please click here.
Once again, thank you friends and all the very best!
/Alex and the rest of the fabulous Rebtel Team
PS. Now we’re going back to basics and to our daily routine which consists of pushing the calling prices as low as they can possibly get. All of you guys as Rebtel friends can help us out with this by telling your friends about us and as icing on the cake, we’ll give you up to $200! It’s the truth. Click here for more info.
Posted in blog | 11 Comments »
Friday, August 22nd, 2008
Dear Rebtel friends,
Unfortunately O2 has decided to block Rebtel in Germany. That means that O2 customers could not call our local German numbers during several days. As a temporary solution we have set up new number series for Germany which means you should be able to create new local numbers to your friends in other countries again. However your old local numbers to existing friends have been changed. Please go to www.rebtel.com to view your new local numbers.
The reason why O2 wants to stop Rebtel is pretty obvious. They have very high margins on their international calling and want to stop any threats to that. Their actions violate not only the crystal clear EU-regulations but are also a breach of your contract with O2(!). This should be more than enough for you as an O2 customer to end your contract (..and maybe also keep your iPhone and switch to another operator that allows you to call any number you please, including Rebtel access numbers.
If you are as upset as we are about this and feel like you want to blow off some steam you might want to consider sending an mail to the boss of O2 in Germany, Mr. Jaime Smith Basterra (jaime.smith@o2.com), or you can call their support desk on 0049 179 55 22 2. Just to stick it to them, you might want to consider adding the number to your Rebtel contact list and call them through us.
To summarize, we are sorry this happened. It shouldn’t have to. This is now a race between O2 and us. Every new number series we launch they will try to block. This is not the first time O2 block international calling services that allow users to call cheaper. However, we are determined not to back down and will make this their last attempt at killing better services.
The fact remains, old operators will always cling on to their decreasing margins, lock-in contracts, hidden charges, big offices, expensive TV-commercials, and out-dated methods but they cannot stop the future of calling. When internet now meets telecom, operators are going to have to change or die. Internet stands for transparency, consumer value, openness and change. Values that clash against the business models of all telecom operators.
One day soon, all calling will be free. Together, we will achieve that.
Take care!
Patric Blixt
patric.blixt@rebtel.com
Edit: Oh yeah, almost forgot. If you want to help us spread the word and have a Digg account, click here and give this post a Digg.
If you want to discuss this topic further and blow off some steam, head over to this thread on our forum. Make your voice count!
Posted in blog | 20 Comments »
Thursday, August 21st, 2008
The Wall Street Journal is without a doubt considered as one of the most influential news publications we have in the world today. To get a mention in “The Journal” is something not a lot of companies can boast about but as of yesterday, Rebtel is among the select few.
To check out the article, click here.
Posted in blog | No Comments »
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
There has been little to no guidance for people looking for the cheapest rates in the jungle of Mobile VoIP providers. A lot of companies make claims saying they have the cheapest rates but most of the times they fail to back it up. Well, here at Rebtel we actually try our best to always practice what we preach and now we have something to officially show for it.
An independent third-party research company based in London called Technology Appraisals has done a pretty, pretty extensive comparative study on 15 Mobile VoIP Providers and their prices. You might have figured out where I’m going with this and you are completely right. We won!
Out of all companies featured in the study, Jajah and Truphone to name two, Rebtel was crowned best in class and overall price leader. This is obviously great for all you guys being our users but it’s just as great for us as a company. There are a lot of factors that make up Rebtel in terms of our own values and benefits we want give our users but there are two in particular that we never have (and never will) compromise on: reliable quality of service and reliably low rates. We like to think we have the best quality (hopefully you agree with us) and now it’s finally official that we do have the lowest rates. Among others, the cool people over at TMCNet covered the story and you can find it here.
So what are the learnings here? Well, we think you should give yourself a nice pat on the back, have a cold drink in the sun with someone you really like and feel extra smart because you use Rebtel
Ps. Don’t forget to friend us up on Plurk and Twitter to have a chat and get the latest updates from us
Posted in blog | 4 Comments »
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Hey there all you Rebtel lovers,
Hope everybody have had a pleasant weekend with a lot of sunbathing and quality time with friends and family. The weather here in Stockholm has been going up and down but we are not complaining. If it’s raining it just gives us a reason to stay in and figure out new cool services, features and promotions for our beloved users
As most of you probably know by now, Steve Jobs announced the iPhone 3G on Monday June 5th and oh boy have we been waiting for that baby. This exciting unveiling took place at the WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) in San Francisco, CA. The WWDC can be described and closely compared to simply heaven for iPhone and OSX fan-boys (and girls). It’s a place where developers from around the world gather to listen to Steve’s keynote, hang out, go to seminars and hopefully develop some wicked apps for our enjoyment that will be available for download (for a few bucks or for free) through Apples own App Store. The iPhone 3G will be available on July 11th and so will the App Store.
Now, how is this interesting for Rebtel you might wonder? Well, we believe that Apple is one of the most innovative companies in the world and we like to think that just like us, they always try to keep pushing the boundaries. The iPhone as a platform has enormous potential and with the 8GB entry model going for as little as $199, a lot of people would argue that the iPhone will go from relative obscurity to ubiquity.
I would lie if I told you that we didn’t have anything on the drawing board for the App Store, so I won’t What I will tell you is that we are now reaching out to you, our users that make up an incredible Rebtel community spread out across the world. We know a lot of you guys love the iPhone as much as we do so we want you to write a short comment to this post and tell us what kind of functionality you would like to see in a native Rebtel iPhone 3G app. Not too shabby, huh?
Truth is, we could make it easy for ourselves and just put something out there without consulting with our users first but who would we be kidding? That’s not how we roll. Never have and never will. We have always been about our users in everything we do and this is not an exception. So go ahead, let your imagination flow and let’s work together to make this something truly great!
As far as guidelines for VoIP applications on the iPhone go, Steve himself has stated that as long as the app doesn’t use the carriers network, VoIP on the iPhone is all good.
If you want to know more about the iPhone 3G, check out this FAQ the cool people over at Gizmodo put together.
Lastly, have a great Sunday and we’re looking forward to hearing from all of you!
Posted in blog | 19 Comments »
Monday, June 16th, 2008
Hola compadres!
During the past week there has been a lot of buzz going around in the Voip blogosphere regarding our friends over at Mobivox and Truphone. They have both been written and talked about quite frequently but unfortunately not in the most flattering of ways. Until very recently, Rebtel, Mobivox and Truphone all had something in common. We all offered free internationall calls. As sad as it is, all that stopped when Mobivox and Truphone both announced they have decided to discontinue their free calling service.
All this drama has been the reason for these two companies being on a lot of people’s lips. When Mobivox made this announcement on their forum it caused an outrage among their users. Although, one has to give Mobivox some credit for making the announcement using a way more personal message vehicle than a press release and that must have at least somewhat relieved a few customers irritation. Good job guys!
We are extremely happy here at Rebtel that there are other likeminded companies like us out there that truly try to be on the end users side. We really do. Luckily, there is an alternative for all these people that still want to make free international calls, even though it’s not with Mobivox or Truphone. Our very own Rebtel equivalent service, Smart Call, is still alive and kicking and not going anywhere!
Our mission here at Rebtel is to create resonance in the telecom space, to disrupt and put an end to the “daylight robbery” that takes place every time we make an international call with our mobile phone to our sister or friend living abroad. This world of ours is becoming increasingly borderless and keeping in touch with your loved ones is more imperative than ever. So, if you can think of anyone out there that just moved to the other side of the world to start a new job or to study, call them and give them a few encouraging words and tell them you miss them.
Oh yeah, don’t forget to tell them we said hi
Posted in blog | 2 Comments »
Friday, May 16th, 2008
People are in desperate need of help in China and Myanmar (Burma). Rebtel wants to help. This is a no-strings attached offer: For the next week you may use Rebtel free of charge to contact your friends, family and colleagues in China and Myanmar to make sure they’re okay and offer your help.
How it works
1 Enter phone number
Enter your mobile number and your friend’s number in China or Myanmar
2 Get local number
We’ll give you a local number in your home country that will connect you to your friend in China / Myanmar
3 Save number and call
Dial the local phone number to speak with your friend in China or Myanmar
Join here to get started or log in if you’re already a Rebtel customer.
You’ll be charged your phone operator’s usual rate for a local call. The connection to China / Myanmar will be free.
If you want to support people in Myanmar and China please visit important support organizations like:
http://www.supportunicef.org
http://www.redcross.org
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
Please note (Updated 2008-05-19)
Fair-use policy allows you 2 hours to China. We are happy that so many are calling to Myanmar but our current capacity cannot hold more calls, so a lot of people cannot get through. We therefore have to temporarily limit the free minutes to 10 minutes when you phone. We hope to be able to increase our capacity again before the 22nd of May. We apologize the limited calling but are happy we can help people to connect. We will continue to work on increasing the minutes and quality. China and Myanmar will have the above mentioned free minutes until the 22nd of May 2008.Â
Posted in China, blog | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 28th, 2008
A new day and a new post from San Francisco. This time the topic will be on one of the presentations from the actual conference that I found generally interesting, but particularly from a Rebtel perspective.
The session was entitled Mobile Ajax and the Future Web and was held by Daniel Appelquist. Daniel is senior technology strategist with the Vodafone Group based in London, UK, where he primarily works on Web and Internet projects and industry activities.
The first part of the talk (which I found most interesting) was a lot about the two different (and today separate) entities we refer to as “The Web” and “The Mobile Web” and how a convergence between the two is taking place.
In a (not too distant) future there will only be one Web when referring to mobile devices as well as regular laptops and desktops. Thematical Consistency, ensuring that content across all devices is provided coherently and consistently, will be ubiquitous and the standard to aim for. Thanks to devices like the iPhone (which naturally was mentioned as a groundbreaking device in this field), the task of obtaining Thematical Consistency becomes significantly easier.
Daniel also mentioned that today, mobile devices are slowly overtaking desktops and laptop based web usage (so cool). Mobile browsing is in other words seriously on the rise and with that device from Apple that came out last year securing a fourth place overall on the Internet browsing market share list with its 0.15%, we can get a hint of what’s to come. In as little as five years, the majority of the total worldwide web usage is predicted to be mobile (!).
A cool little detail during the talk, which felt very reassuring for us coming from someone like Daniel, was that he mentioned Rebtel (see the picture above) as one of the companies that truly are in the forefront in mobile technology and web. Thank you Daniel, you are a rock star!
Posted in 2.0, In the media, Vodafone, blog, daniel appelquist, iphone, mobile, rebtel, rebtel staff, rebtel web, web 2.0 expo | No Comments »
