Calling Myanmar and China for free

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With Asia grappling with two major natural disasters, many people across the globe are desperate to contact people they know in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar and earthquake-damaged China.

Rebtel, an Internet phone company in Sweden, is offering free calls to both countries from today until May 22. The offer is open to anyone who wants to call China and Myanmar, not just those wanting to talk to those affected.

The service, which translates international calls into local ones, works like this:

Someone from, say, Pasadena, goes to Rebtel’s website and enters their cellphone number and that of their contact in China. Rebtel sends the caller a local Pasadena number and, when he calls it, the phone rings in China. An hour-long international cellphone call that might normally cost big bucks is now free (Rebtel normally charges about 2 cents a minute to call China.)

Rebtel works as long as the local infrastructure works. If no one is getting through, a spokesman says, then Rebtel won’t either.

So quick, call China or Myanmar. Or wait. Should someone call a friend or relative there just to gab? Use your own judgment, the Rebtel spokesman says. ‘We are offering the service so people can check in on loved ones and business services,’ he said.

-- Michelle Quinn