RebTel’s idea is so simple that I’m upset I didn’t think of it first. Simply pick a local-to-you number from their service and pair it to your friend’s international number. Then, you dial a local number, pay the local number rate (plus $1 US a week for the service), and you’re in business. Your friend can do the same in reverse. You sign up for the service (and it’s a pay service, so don’t get too excited, but hey, it’s very inexpensive, when you review the rates). You have to configure one local number for every international friend you want to add to the service, but think about how this works:
No software to download. No carrier approval or disapproval. Tech you can use from any mobile device.
Tie this to some of the other calling hacks I’ve mentioned lately and you’ve got something here. What if you added AIM Phoneline into the mix? What about that K7.net hack? Someone in Singapore could pair a local RebTel number with the Seattle-based K7 service, and make it into a local number to call, thus opening that free voicemail-to-mp3-to-email service capability to ANY PHONE AREA IN THE WORLD. How cool is that? RebTel – [via a PodTech podcast]
