Rebtel announces the new version of its Android app is now available, allowing users to make free Android-to-Android international calls between more than 50 countries, and realize savings of up to 95 percent when making calls to any other phone, compared to traditional long-distance rates.

Rebtel for Android v. 1.1 includes:

• Android-to-Android free calls: The international part of the call is completely free of charge. The caller and recipient only pay their carriers for local calling minutes determined by their calling plans.
• App works in background of default Android dial pad: When the user dials an international number from the native Android dial pad, or selects a contact with an international number from the address book, the call is automatically intercepted and routed via Rebtel instead of their carrier. Android-to-Android calls are free. Calls to any other phone cost a fraction of the regular international calling rate in a seamless calling experience as normally done on any Android phone. Just dial and smile. Rebtel does the rest.
• No Wi-Fi needed: Rebtel works on the standard cellular network using local phone numbers where the caller lives instead of requiring an active Wi-Fi connection to make free or low-cost international calls. Rebtel for Android works anytime, anywhere and works with the standard dial pad and address book.

Rebel with a cause

The company, which took its name from its rebel stance in the telecom industry, has one mission: to help those who are in need of it most by saving them up to 95 percent on international calls. Unlike Skype, which still requires calls to be made over Wi-Fi, a fixed Internet connection, or a $99 per month Verizon plan, Rebtel works with any phone -- landline, feature phone, or smart phone -- for just the low price of the call.

Rebtel itself has come a long distance since its founding in 2006. Rebtel doubled its customer base in 2009, with more than 80 percent of new users driven by word of mouth. The Stockholm-based firm also launched its first applications for the iPhone and Android platform in 2009, and made two strategic acquisitions of Gorilla and Talkster.

Rebtel’s revenue grew 100 percent in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period last year, increasing revenue from $8 million during the first six months of 2009 to more than $16 million during the same period this year. Today, Rebtel is operating at an annual revenue run rate of just over $40 million, and has just logged more than one billion minutes in international calls.

According to a new report from research company Frost & Sullivan, mobile VoIP revenues will grow to $29.57 billion by 2015. At the end of 2008, approximately $605.8 million of mobile VoIP revenues were generated. “Mobile VoIP is no longer just hype, but has become a credible threat to traditional voice revenues,” Saverio Romeo, senior industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan, said in the report.

Juniper Research forecasts there will be more than 100 million mobile VoIP users within two years. Rebtel is squarely in the middle of a second wave of mobile VoIP growth, joining the likes of Skype and Google Voice in terms of growth pace.