Rebtel Acquires Talkster Service

STOCKHOLM and TORONTO, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Rebtel, the Internet phone company, announced today it has acquired Free World Dialing, an award-winning consumer calling service from Talkster. Talkster's Free World Dialing customers will now have access to Rebtel's Free Calls solution, the only VoIP service offering unlimited free international mobile calls between 51 countries.

Launched in October 2007 at the CTIA Wireless Entertainment and I.T. exposition, Talkster's Free World Dialing service was immediately hailed as a breakthrough new service, winning "Best In Show." Since then Free World Dialing continued to win widespread recognition along with a number of industry awards, including Mobile Star's Best Consumer VoIP App and Communications Solutions Product of the Year. Rebtel has acquired the full rights to the Free World Dialing service and its customers for an undisclosed sum. Under the agreement, Rebtel now carries all of Talkster's international calls.

In addition to Rebtel's Free Calls solution, former Talkster customers have access to other services from Rebtel, which make it possible to use any phone in 51 countries to call anywhere in the world for free or for just pennies per minute. The acquisition also allows Talkster customers to use Rebtel Computer Calls to make free or super-cheap calls from any country to anywhere in the world, as well as Rebtel SMS for low-cost international text messaging.

"We have a large base of loyal international calling customers who are very important to us, and we wanted to make certain they would continue to benefit from a high quality international calling service suited to their needs," said James Wanless, Talkster COO and co-founder. "Rebtel offers the best migration path for our customers who want to stay in touch with their family and friends abroad and Talkster is confident our customers will be impressed with the cost savings and valuable new calling features the Rebtel service offers."

Rebtel is growing rapidly and now serves more than 4 million registered customers worldwide, and adds more than 100,000 new users each month. Revenue in 2009 was close to $20 million and grew 75% versus 2008. Rebtel expects to grow at a similar rate in 2010.

The acquisition of Talkster's Free World Dialing comes just months after Rebtel's similar acquisition of the Gorilla Mobile service, a U.S.-based VoIP company that provided low-cost calling primarily to Asia.

"Rebtel has successfully proven its business model by providing excellent quality of service, with transparent and low pricing, where innovation such as Computer Calls, applications and SMS is driven by customer demand," said Andreas Bernstrom, Rebtel's CEO. "In 2010 we expect to see similar growth and will continue to develop our service to fit the needs of our users. Talkster is a clear fit offering excellent synergies with our free international mobile calling service."

About Talkster

Talkster is revolutionizing messaging communications with award-winning software-based technologies. Through its talki™ mobile application Talkster brings consumers highly affordable alternatives to text and picture messaging. Talkster's talki white label application allows companies to create new opportunities for revenue and marketing by offering their customers compelling messaging services delivered through a branded mobile interface. From your mobile phone visit http://m.talki.me to download talki. For more information visit Talkster at www.Talki.me.

About Rebtel

Rebtel is an Internet phone company that makes it possible to use any phone in 52 countries to call anywhere in the world for just pennies per minute. Rebtel customers only pay for the minutes they use. There are no monthly fees, no connection fees, or hidden costs. Free Calls are possible between the 51 countries served by Rebtel and only one of the two people on a call must be a Rebtel customer. For more information, or to start using Rebtel, go to http://www.rebtel.com.

SOURCE Rebtel