On 2007-12-12, Larry <noone@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Nomen Nescio <nobody@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
> "Global Calls for Less
>
> One company rebuffed by the carriers is Rebtel Networks, a
> Swedish provider of cheap international calls over the Web.
> Rebtel wants to use short codes to bring its service to mobile
> phones. Users would send a text message containing the desired
> global phone number to Rebtel's short code. They would then
> receive a text message with a local phone number to dial, paying
> pennies per minute for the call rather than the much higher sums
> cellular carriers charge for overseas connections."
>
> Now much of an issue, actually. That's why we have CONTACT LISTS
> and VOICE DIALING.
[...]
> PRECHARGED Mobivox account. England, for instance, is 1.9c/min,
> even cheaper than Skype Out charges from Skype phones. Mobivox
> works from ANY phone, landline or mobile, because it has regular
> access numbers across the planet. It doesn't depend on SELLphone
> carriers to cooperate with it in any way. Their numbers are just
> another phone number. Mobivox has matured nicely and works
> great.
I think you misunderstand how Rebtel works. Instead of giving
you a dial-through number that you need to talk to to make a
call, it instead gives you a separate local number for each
overseas person you want to call. The first time you call
them it gives you the local number, you record the number in
your phone book, and then each subsequent time you call you
just dial that number. No need to talk to a dial-through every
time you call, each of your overseas contacts ends up with a
separate local number.
The issue is how you set up the first call. You can do this
over the Internet, or by using a local dial-through number, or
by sending them a text message from your cell phone. I guess
they wanted the short code to make it easier to send that
text message, but nothing relies on it.
Rebtel is also nice for travel in countries where they have
numbers, if you have a local phone. You register the phone's
number with them and they give you a set of local numbers for
that country for each of your contacts. And you can get free
calls to countries where they have numbers, even if the person
you are calling doesn't have an account with them; just get them
to call you back on the number that showed up in their caller
ID when you called. This is all pretty clever. Rebtel's rates
also seem to be cheaper than Mobivox.
It isn't surprising these services are cheaper than Skype, though,
since Skype is not that cheap. Skype's rates to mobile phones in
many countries kind of suck. My current favorite example
Skype ripoff is the cost to call a mobile phone in Trinidad;
it shouldn't be anywhere close to the premium over a landline,
the actual difference in cost is only a penny or two per minute.
I like Skype because it works fairly reliably over just about
any random Internet connection you can find, while SIP is
frequently blocked. I am aware, however, that some of Skype's
prices are not that attractive.
Dennis Ferguson
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