Rebtel cuts international call rates to Ghana

Swedish based telecommunications company Rebtel have announced news that will bring New Year cheer to many of their customers seeking cheap calls to Ghana. As of January 2011, Rebtel’s call rates, already amongst the best in the industry, will be lowered for international calls to Ghana using the Rebtel service, from 20.9c per minute, to just 18.9c per minute.

The change in rate maintains Rebtel’s unquestioned position as being one of the best international calling companies in terms of offering outstanding call rates.

The news is particularly welcome for the hard hit Ghana calling market that has seen a decline in usage of an estimated 20% over the latter half of 2010. The reason for this decline was the imposition of a new tax by the Ghanaian government, on companies that offered calling services to the African country.

The new tax was aimed at raising an estimated $60 million a year, according to Ghana Business News experts, however the imposition on the tax hit Ghanaian international callers hardest as telecom companies had little alternative but to pass on this new tax to its customers.

When the new tax came into existence in June 2010, Rebtel were forced to raise their rate to 20.9c per minute to combat this new tax on international calling. Operational Controller for Rebtel, Mikael Rosengren, stated at the time that the rise in rate was “deeply regrettable” and went on to promise:

“We will observe the situation in Ghana very carefully,” he stated

“Since Ghana is one of our most important destinations hopefully we can lower the rates very soon.”

Just six months after the imposition of the new tax, Rebtel has made good on that promise to their customers and the Swedish company will no doubt hope that the reduction in rate will help halt the decline of the Ghanaian international call market over the second half of 2010.

The rate cut announced in January is simply a confirmation of Rebtel’s long-term commitment to providing a quality call service to Ghana and a whole host of countries across the world. Indeed, the rate cut in Ghana has been mirrored by many other rate cuts over 2010 that has made international calling with Rebtel as cheap, if not cheaper as using any of their main rivals.

Certainly, there is no evidence to suggest that it was disappointment with Rebtel’s service that caused the fall in call traffic in late 2010. Customer satisfaction levels with the Swedish company are carefully monitored by their research team and regularly achieve rates above 95% satisfaction with customers from all over the world, calling a whole host of destinations, including Ghana.

With no expensive monthly bills, unreliable calling cards, pricy connection fees or hidden costs of any kind, Rebtel provide an open and honest service for their customers, that is only enhanced by their commitment to providing a quality, direct line to the country being called. This ensures that call quality is as high as it can possibly be and reduces the number of connection errors, drop outs and poor quality lines.

With good news for Ghana customers already in 2011, it looks like being a great year for Rebtel and their growing customer base.