O2 is blocking Rebtel
Dear Rebtel friends,
Sorry for the length of this email but we feel that it's our obligation to inform you what O2 is doing in Germany.
On the 19th of August thousands of Rebtel users in Germany found that they were not able to call their friends and loved ones in other countries. O2 had just decided to block all of Rebtel's' number series.
Within 24 hours after they blocked us we were up and running. The only difference is that O2 now have thousands of angry customers. We gave our users new numbers to use and yesterday O2 blocked Rebtel again. We will keep updating the numbers. It will be race between them and us. However we are trying to establish a dialogue with O2 to solve this problem for our users since it's their need that matter the most, not an open conflict with O2. Although we will make them aware that this is very likely a breach of their users' contracts. For O2 their users' calling to Rebtel numbers is of no extra cost nor does it cause any technical problems or security issues. The reason behind O2's actions is clear, that they want to force its subscribers to make expensive calls abroad instead of using Rebtel's services. O2 is thereby abusing their customers trust.
This is not the first or the last time Rebtel has encountered this. We face this situation in the US where Verizon is blocking our short codes. We have filed a complaint to the FCC but these complaints take time and face strong powers. These blocking activities are a sign of the increasing threat that Rebtel is perceived to be for traditional operators. Legal gray areas and oligopolistic powers allow them to keep trying to close us down on the cost of their own users' phone bills and of the cost of free competition.
This is what happens when internet meets telecom. 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. Operators first shifted their focus from fixed calling to mobile calling and then to mobile broadband to maintain their high margins. Now when they have to start offering fixed monthly fees for all they have to rely on up-sells, lock-ins and protect the international calling since those are the services they still make money on.
For some more personal opinions on what we feel about Rebtel users being blocked please see our blog or our forum
http://forum.rebtel.com.
http://blog.rebtelforum.com/20…ccess-numbers-in-germany/
Or read more on the largest mobile blogs in Germany
http://www.areamobile.de/news/9760.html
Best regards,
Patric Blixt
Chief Marketing Officer, Rebtel