Pakistanis living in 50 countries around the world can now call friends and family in Pakistan free of charge using any phone - landline or mobile - with the introduction of Rebtel service in Pakistan.

The same goes for people in Pakistan who can now use their landline or mobile phones to call friends and family in 50 other countries free of charge, or make ultra-cheap calls to anywhere else in the world using Rebtel, the Internet phone company.

There is no charge to set up a Rebtel account. No contract. No monthly fees. And no changes whatsoever are required to the users calling plan with their landline or mobile phone provider.

How Rebtel works

Rebtel gives people local phone numbers in the country where they live that connect them directly with their friends and family abroad. That means, for example, Rebtel gives someone living in Lahore a local Lahore phone number that connects him directly to a friend or family member living in New York. At the same time Rebtel gives the friend or family member in New York a local New York phone number that connects them directly to their friend or family member in Lahore.

There's no access number to dial, no PIN to remember, or long international phone number to enter. The user only dials a local phone number where they live and Rebtel connects the call over the Internet to their loved one abroad.

Free Call: Tricky but worth it
Rebtel's standard rates to and from Pakistan are incredibly low - almost always better than calling card rates.

All calls - to landlines or mobile phones anywhere in Pakistan - from any of the 50 other countries where Rebtel is available are just 7.4 cents (U.S.) per minute.

And calls from Pakistan are equally cheap. For example, a call from Pakistan to:

• Saudi Arabia is 8.23 PKR per minute on a landline, 16.30 PKR on a mobile phone
• U.K. is 1.58 PKR per minute on a landline, 14.97 PKR on a mobile phone
• UAE is 16.55 PKR per minute on a landline, 17.55 PKR on a mobile phone
• U.S. is 1.24 PKR per minute on either a landline or mobile phone

But if those rates are still too high, Rebtel recommends Pakistanis use the Free Call service and get their international call for the cost of making a local call.

Here's how to make a Free Call: When a person in Karachi calls a friend in London, for example, they ask their friend - while they stay on the line in Karachi - to hang up in London and call right back using the local London phone number they've been given by Rebtel to reach their friend in Karachi.

When that happens:

• The person in Karachi is making a local call
• Their friend in London is making a local call
• Rebtel connects the two local calls over the Internet, and
• The international minutes are free.

Free Calls (when the person who receives the call hangs up and calls back while the original caller stays on the line) today can be made between 51 countries around the world.

Getting started with Rebtel is fast, easy and free

1. Go to http://www.rebtel.com, enter your number and a friend's number abroad.
2. Rebtel creates a local number you can use from any phone, anywhere.
3. Save the number in your mobile phone's address book and use it any time.