Forsman has a wealth of experience in the mobile industry and has been a computer engineer for nearly 15 years. In his most recent role as Senior Lead Program Manager at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Wash., he directed the global implementation of the company’s mobile services, including Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Hotmail, Marketplace and MyPhone. This was one of several management positions Forsman held in over a decade at Microsoft.

“We are always looking for innovative ways to engage with our users and continuously focus on developing our applications to ensure we meet the demands of our growing customer base,” said Andreas Bernström, CEO of Rebtel. “Daniel is going to be integral to driving forward our product development plans. He adds vigor to our team, and we are confident his flare and experience will take innovation to the next level at Rebtel.”

“I’ve always admired Rebtel from afar,” commented Forsman. “Its growth rate is impressive; it has a loyal fan base and a fantastic brand. It’s great to be on board, and I am looking forward to getting started.”

Along with Mr. Forsman’s appointment, Rebtel is announcing plans to increase its headcount by 50 percent over the next 12 months, with plans to open a U.S. office before the end of the year to better service its North American customer base.

The survey focused on two specific questions related to communication methods, including:

- Methods of communication (other than in person) online U.S. adults use to communicate with certain people

- One method of communication (other than in person) online U.S. adults would choose to communicate with certain people

According to the study, 93% of online U.S. adults use some method of communicating with family other than in person, and a vast majority (81%) of them claim they use voice/phone to keep in touch. 92% of online U.S. adults also use some method of communicating with friends other than in-person, with nearly three out of four (74%) who do so choosing voice/phone.

Surprisingly, voice/phone is also popular when it comes to staying in touch with a spouse or a significant other (85%) among those online adults who communicate with a spouse/significant other (other than in person), far surpassing text/SMS (58%) and email (56%), which came in a distant second and third respectively. Voice/Phone was also the clear favorite among online U.S. adults who communicate with others (other than in person) if they could only choose one method of communication (other than in person) to various groups, claiming the #1 spot in three of the four groups outlined (friends, family, and spouse/significant other).

“Modern communication methods such as Video calling, Social Networking, IM, and Email have all made a tremendous impact on our social behavior, however today’s results are a tell-tale sign that the more things change, the more they stay the same, and nothing comes close to replacing the familiar sound of a loved ones voice at the other end of the line,” said Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel.

Here’s a breakdown of the findings:

Methods of communication (other than in person) U.S. adults use to communicate

Overall, 92% of American adults communicate with friends other than in person. Among those that do:

Overall, 93% of American adults communicate with family (other than in person). Among those that do:

Overall, 61% of American adults communicate with a spouse/significant other (other than in person). Among those that do:

Overall, 58% of American adults communicate with work colleagues (other than in person). Among those that do:

One method of communication (other than in person) U.S. adults would choose to communicate with certain people

Among those that communicate with friends other than in person, if they had to choose only one method to communicate with friends, the results show:

Among those that communicate with family other than in person, if they had to choose only one method to communicate with family, the results show:

Among those that communicate with their spouse/significant other (other than in person), if they had to choose only one method to communicate with their spouse/significant other, the results show:

Among those that communicate with their work colleagues (other than in person), if they had to choose only one method to communicate with their work colleagues, the results show:

Harris Interactive® fielded the study on behalf of Rebtel from May 17th -19th, 2011 via its Harris Poll QuickQuerySM online omnibus service, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,361 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Eric Gonzalez at eric@vscconsulting.com.

Stockholm, Sweden, May 16, 2011 – Rebtel, the world’s largest independent mobile VoIP company, announced today it has been selected as a finalist in Red Herring’s Top 100 Europe award, a prestigious list honoring the year’s most promising private technology ventures from the European business region.

The Red Herring editorial team selected the most innovative companies from a pool of hundreds from across Europe. The nominees are evaluated on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration into their respective industries.

This unique assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the actual track record and standing of a company, which allows Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the list an valuable instrument for discovering and advocating the greatest business opportunities in the industry.

“It’s a great feeling to even be picked as a Top 100 company by the Red Herring team among all these other amazing European businesses that are currently thriving, but to do it for second time after our win in 2007 is just a tremendous feeling. It’s a testament to that we’ve done the right things in the past 4 years.” said Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel.

This is the second time Rebtel is up for Red Herring’s coveted Top 100 Europe award. In 2007, the company made it all the way to number one when it won first-place honors among more than 700 other European technology companies.

“This year was very rewarding,” said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. “The global economic situation has abated and there are many great companies producing really innovative and amazing products. We had a very difficult time narrowing the pool and selecting the finalists. Rebtel shows great promise therefore deserves to be among the Finalists. Now we’re faced with the difficult task of selecting the Top 100 winners of Red Herring Europe. We know that the 2011 crop will grow into some amazing companies that are sure to make an impact.”

Finalists for the 2011 edition of the Red Herring 100 Europe award are selected based upon their technological innovation, management strength, market size, investor record, customer acquisition, and financial health. During the several months leading up to the announcement, hundreds of companies in the telecommunications, security, Web 2.0, software, hardware, biotech, mobile and other industries completed their submissions to qualify for the award.

The Finalists are invited to present their winning strategies at the Red Herring Europe Forum in Amsterdam, May 23-25, 2011. The Top 100 winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony the evening of May 25 at the event.

In addition, Rebtel announced it has dramatically reduced rates on international text messages from the U.S. also for people who don’t own smartphones. Rebtel ToIP for feature phones, which is a complement to the SMS service in their smartphone offerings, is up to 92.5% less expensive than the going rate offered by Sprint, and up to 93% cheaper than AT&T and Verizon, the two largest mobile telecom carriers in the U.S.

“The launch of our Rebtel messaging API opens a huge opportunity for large SMS replacement providers like KiK, WhatsApp or group messaging services like TextPlus, GroupMe and others, to pass on huge cost-savings to their customers,” said Rebtel CEO Andreas Bernström. “We are the very first service provider to launch cheap international SMS through local numbers, and this is just the latest example of how Rebtel is committed to bringing innovation to market that benefits consumer’s pocketbooks instead of carriers’ profits.”

The news about Rebtel’s new messaging service comes in wake of the company’s recent record-breaking revenue increase of 120%, reaching $40 million in 2010. With over 1 billion minutes logged and over 200 million international calls connected since its founding in 2006, Rebtel, with a current run-rate of $60 million, expects to double its revenue to $75 million this year.

How Rebtel’s Text-over-IP Service Works

Just like Rebtel’s innovative method invented for making free and low cost international voice calls, Rebtel ToIP uses local numbers where the sender lives for addressing text messages to friends, loved ones, and co-workers living abroad.

By using local numbers instead of long international numbers, people can send text messages to one another as often as they like for a fraction of what the carriers charge.

Getting started is fast and easy:

1. Go to Rebtel, sign up and enter your mobile phone number and your loved one’s mobile number.

2. Rebtel creates a local number where you live and sends it in a text message (SMS) to your phone.

3. Save the number in your phone’s address book and use it at any time to send a text message or call your loved one abroad and save at least 50% from regular operators costs.

“Smartphone users have been able to use a variety of apps to circumvent carriers’ rip-off rates for international text messaging for quite some time,” Bernström said. “Rebtel ToIP finally gives the same opportunity to feature phone users who wish to send texts abroad without incurring expensive charges each time.”

To learn more about how existing U.S. Rebtel customers can now send international text messages using the same local numbers previously created for them to make voice calls, please click here.

Group and PUSH messaging providers interested in the service or more information can send an email to sales@rebtel.com.

According to survey respondents, the vast majority of them preferred Skype as their video application of choice, with approximately 47% of claiming it as the app they most use. Facetime and Yahoo! Messenger came in second and third place, representing nearly 14% of users, followed by Tango at 8%.

The Oprah effect?
Comparing male to female responses, Skype was an overwhelming favorite of among women with 74% claiming to use the application, whereas only 42% of men preferred Skype. Rebtel believes Skype may have benefitted from an Oprah-bump as the television show now integrates Skype into the show experience for live interviews.

Here’s a breakdown of the different sex percentages:

Males:
Skype 42%
Facetime 15%
Yahoo! Messenger 14%
Tango 9%
Other 20%

Females:
Skype 74%
Facetime 7%
Yahoo! Messenger 13%
Tango 3%
Other 3%

In terms of whether those polled would be willing to pay a monthly fee to make video calls, 21% answered yes, with 79% saying they would not be willing to pay a fee. Men were approximately 1.5x as likely to pay a fee than women, with 22% of males and only 14% of females claiming they would be willing to do so.

Out of the immigrants in the study hailing from Cuba, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, India, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines and UK currently residing in the US, all segments ranked Skype as their preferred video calling application of choice.

“Skype is the clear leader when it comes it comes to the preferred method of how U.S. immigrant and first generation Americans choose to make video calls,” said Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel. “Facetime, and Yahoo! Messenger not only have some serious catching up to do, but they’ll have to be much more aggressive if they truly want to distance themselves from other competing services like Tango, which appear to be closing ground quickly.”

According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, there are 37.9 million immigrants (both legal and illegal) in the U.S. 10.8 million of those are illegal. The study was conducted in November 2010 with a sample group of respondents comprised of Rebtel users divided into 11 different ethnic groups; Cuba, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, India, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines and UK. Each ethnic group received their own identical survey and all the respondents are currently located in the US.

Rebtel has made significant strides since its inception in 2006 with over 1 billion minutes of international calls logged and a total of 200 million calls connected. The company attributes its success to its commitment to the customer and its dedication to innovation. Ten new hires were recently made in the research and engineering team to strengthen Rebtel’s mobile application credentials and deliver free and cheap international calls through iPhone, Blackberry and Android applications.

These award-winning mobile offerings have helped Rebtel to cement consumer loyalty, double its customer base in 2010, and achieve an all time high on its customer satisfaction survey in February 2011 with 98% of users stating they would recommend Rebtel to a friend. Rebtel’s word of mouth recommendations are an integral part of its growth, as it drives registrations and accounts for 65% of new user registrations.

Rapid expansion into Africa, Asia and the Middle East has also contributed to the increase in customer base. Free international calls to mobiles were enabled in Algeria, Bahrain and Jordan and rates have been lowered to Egypt and the above countries (please click here for further information on reduced rates).

Alexander Michael, Principal Analyst at Frost and Sullivan, comments: “We nominated Rebtel for our emerging company of the year award as we are impressed by its revenue figures, high growth rate and quality of service. I have long been a Rebtel user because it is easy to use and I can rely on it to connect me with my family and friends abroad. Rebtel has a strong brand with a loyal user base and is definitely one to watch this year.”

Andreas Bernström, CEO at Rebtel, says: “These are fantastic results, which confirm Rebtel is a serious player in the mobile VoIP market. We are thrilled to be growing at such a rate and plan to keep up this pace for the rest of 2011 and beyond. We have a detailed plan of action for the coming months and will be releasing more innovative and viral applications that help us deliver high quality and low cost international calls for the consumer market.”

For further information about how Rebtel works on feature phones and smartphones, please click here.

According to the survey, the iPad reigns supreme as the preferred tablet device, with two-thirds of tablet owners choosing the device. French Americans claim the highest percentage of tablet owners (17%), followed by Mexican-Americans (15%), Nigerian-Americans, and Ghana-Americans at 14% respectively rounded out by Ethiopian-Americans at 8% and Cuban-Americans at 7%.

Among the different demographics, there were some wide disparities concerning whether or not they would buy a tablet in the near future. Ghanese (62%) and Indian Americans (58%) topped the list among immigrant populations looking to buy a tablet device, while Ethiopian (31%) and French Americans (34%) ranked last.

In terms of brand preference broken down by ethnicity of users, Apple’s iPad has a particularly strong foothold among Cuban-Americans, Indian-Americans and Nigerian-Americans, which account for the highest affinity marked by 83%, 80%, and 75% respectively.

Concerning the highest percentage of respondents who said that they would most likely buy an iPad in the near future, a whopping 87% of Kenyans claimed they would do so, with French immigrants coming in second at 81%. The Kindle was a popular second choice as a tablet device, with 9% of the overall population saying they are most likely to buy it, with Ethiopian immigrants leading the way at 24%.

Out of the immigrants in the study hailing from Cuba, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, India, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines and UK currently residing in the US, all segments ranked the iPad as their tablet of choice.

Individual ethnic group responses:

“Apple has remained the brand of choice for the immigrant and first generation U.S. market,” said Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel. “We’re witnessing a massive shift in technology brand affinity over the past decade as Sony has been dethroned, and Apple has grabbed the reigns and held tight starting with the iPod moving forward.”

There are 37.9 million immigrants (both legal and illegal) in the U.S. 10.8 million of those are illegal.The percentage of native-born people in the U.S. has fallen for four straight decades, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2008, 12.5% of the population was born outside the U.S., nearing the all-time highs of nearly 15% in the late 1800s.

The study was conducted in November 2010 with a sample group of respondents comprised of Rebtel users divided into 11 different ethnic groups; Cuba, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, India, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines and UK. Each ethnic group received their own identical survey and all the respondents are currently located in the US.

The news immediately affects millions of BlackBerry users looking for a smart and simple solution for making free or affordable international calls. Rebtel currently has mobile offerings with similar Free Calls functionality available for the Android platform (since March 2010) and is adding it to their next version of Apple’s iOS iteration slated for release in Spring 2011.

“We are committed to bringing innovation into the oligopolistic marketplace to make international calls either free or super-cheap for our customers,” said Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel. “Our BlackBerry app, in addition to our Android app, delivers this in a powerful way, and the fact that this can be used across the bulk of Smartphone devices is a huge advantage to mobile users who are looking to connect with friends and family across the globe in the most inexpensive way possible.

According to a January 2011 report from app store analytics company Distimo, RIM’s BlackBerry App World showed triple digit growth in the last year, growing to nearly 18,000 applications.

Google estimates that there are now more than 500 thousand apps running on more than 150 million mobile devices, and that the app economy is estimated to be $2 billion annually, growing to $4 billion by 2012.

In terms of over all consumer market share, a January report from Nielsen states that Android OS (25.8%) is still behind Apple’s iOS (28.6%). RIM’s share (26.1%) puts it within the margin of error of both Apple iOS and Android. Statistically, BlackBerry OS remains tied with both Apple for first and Android for third.

Rebtel for BlackBerry includes:

Free international calls: Calls from Rebtel users to BlackBerry or Android devices with the application enabled from any phone are completely free of international charges.

Seamless background integration: When the user dials an international number, or selects an address book contact with an international number, the call is automatically intercepted and routed via Rebtel instead of their carrier.

No Wi-Fi needed: Similar to Rebtel’s Android app, Rebtel for BlackBerry works on the standard cellular network using local phone numbers and users’ monthly local minutes instead of requiring an active Wi-Fi connection to connect calls. The Rebtel app works anytime, anywhere and works with the standard operator, dialer and address book.

Rebtel for BlackBerry is available starting today on BlackBerry App World.

Rebel on the Rise

Rebtel has become the world’s largest independent mobile VoIP-company with more than 9 million callers and over one billion minutes of international calls logged. Rebtel revenue grew more than 100% in 2010 to approximately $40 million, and with a run rate of $55 million Rebtel should generate a projected revenue of $75 million in 2011.

Rebtel has come a long way since its founding by Hjalmar Winbladh and Jonas Lindroth in 2006, whose previous venture was sold to Microsoft, with two strategic acquisitions and the launch of international calling applications for iOS in 2009, Android in 2010, and now BlackBerry in 2011.

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 Smartphone — for just the low price of the call. There are no monthly fees, no connection fees, or hidden costs to use Rebtel.

According to the study, 1 in 4 U.S adults make international calls, and of those who spend money to make such calls, the average spend is approximately $34 every month. With an estimated 235 million U.S. adults, this works out to roughly 58.8 million Americans shelling out nearly $1.98 billion on international calls outside of the U.S. monthly and $23.8 billion annually.

For adults who make international calls, the majority do so using a landline (51%), either a traditional landline service provider (42%) and/or a VoIP service such as Vonage (12%). Another 44% make international phone calls via their mobile phones, through carrier calling rates (25%), special long distance packages (20%), and/or a VoIP service/application (9%). Another 25% of those who make international phone calls do so using their computer through software based services like Skype, while 20% use calling cards and 4% use something else.

“The international calling industry for calling from the U.S. abroad is now estimated at a $23.8 billion market,” said Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel. “Over the next few years we believe this will shift in a dramatic way, to low calling solutions on mobile phones away from the landline.”

Men call Mars. Women call Venus.

• Of those who make international phone calls men are more likely than women to do so via their computer through software based services like Skype (31% vs. 19% respectively).

• Men are more likely than women to say that if they were going to change the way they make international phone calls they would switch to use their mobile phone VoIP service/application (10% vs. 2% respectively) or a landline (26% vs. 10% respectively).

• Men are more likely than women to say they make video calls (16% vs. 11% respectively). Of men and women who do make video calls, men are also more likely than women to say that they would be willing to pay a monthly fee to be able to do so (42% vs. 24% respectively).

Ethnic breakdown: General U.S populations vs. Hispanic and Black/African American respondents

The study also took a look at two of the most heavily represented ethnic groups and found that Hispanic respondents led the way in international calls with 36% saying they make them, whereas only 26% of the Black/African American respondents said they make calls internationally.

Have a smartphone with an application for international calling:

Hispanic respondents – 14%

Black/African American respondents – 14%

U.S / General population – 8%

Make video phone calls:

Hispanic respondents – 22%

U.S / General population – 14%

Black/African American respondents – 10%

Those who make video calls would be willing to pay a monthly fee for the service:

Hispanic respondents – 58%

Black/African American respondents – 37%

U.S / General population – 34%

For those who spend money to make calls, the average spent per month is:

Hispanic respondents – $46

Black/African American respondents – $35

U.S. / General population – $34

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Rebtel from September 1 – 3, 2010 among 2,258 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Eric Gonzalez at eric@vscconsulting.com.

According to responses, a strong majority (56%) of U.S. adults who make intertional phone calls would switch the way they make them. The study also found that more than 2 in 5 of these adults (43%) say they would switch to using their mobile phone to make those calls. “The message seems clear, consumers want to change their existing provider and change to calling from a mobile hand-set,” said Andreas Bernstrom, CEO of Rebtel.

According to responses, a strong majority (56%) of U.S. adults who make intertional phone calls are would switch the way they make them.

Of the adults who said they would switch to their mobile phone, 19% said they would switch to using special long distance packages, while 16% said they would switch to using their mobile phone using regular carrier calling rates. A surprising 11% said they would use a VoIP service/application.

“This signals a major opportunity for calling companies and services to capture a majority of the U.S. consumer market. Our findings demonstrate that international calling is a wide open market for innovative and inexpensive calling services, and will allow services like Google Voice to pose a real threat to operators.”

In terms of video calls, 14% of Americans said they currently make them, with a staggering 34% of respondents saying they would be willing to pay a monthly fee. “This opens up a new, non-ad based revenue model for providers like Skype who are looking to monetize on their video services”, said Bernstrom. Of those that replied ‘yes’ to paying for these calls, 15% said they would be willing to pay under $5, with 7% stating they would be willing to spend between $5 and $10 a month. 6% said they would spend more than $10, and another 6% said they would be willing to pay no matter what the cost.

In terms of video calls, 14% of Americans said they currently make them, with a staggering 34% of respondents saying they would be willing to pay a monthly fee.

Of those that replied ‘yes’ to paying for these calls, 44% said they would be willing to pay under $5, with 21% stating they would be willing to spend between $5 and $10 a month. 18% said they would spend more than $10, and 17% said they would be willing to pay no matter what the cost.

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Rebtel from September 1 – 3, 2010 among 2,258 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Eric Gonzalez at eric@vscconsulting.com.