SAN FRANCISCO, September 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberians and Ivoirians in the U.S. who use international calling cards to stay in touch with family at home, said they almost never get all of the calling minutes purchased, and that calling card fraud has cheated some of them by as much as US$2,000.

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The first-ever report on calling habits to Liberia and the Ivory Coast from the U.S. found that 90.9% of Liberians, and 82.2% of Ivoirians believe they receive fewer minutes than promised by calling card providers. The average loss due to fraudulent cards was US$125, the study found, but many respondents said the total sum lost was far greater.

Conducted last month by Rebtel (http://www.rebtel.com), the first-ever research uncovered fascinating findings on U.S. calling habits to Liberia and the Ivory Coast.

Nearly 80% of Rebtel calls to the Ivory Coast from the U.S. go to family members. Calling rates are most important to Ivoirians when it comes to international calls. But call quality is No.1 for Liberians.

Of the Ivoirians participating in the survey, 62% said Rebtel rates are better than alternatives for calling home. Approximately 89% of the Liberians who took the survey said Rebtel offers superior call quality.

Release of the study coincides with dramatic rate reductions by Rebtel on calls to the Ivory Coast (http://www.rebtel.com/en/Cheap-Calls/CoteDivoire) and Liberia (http://www.rebtel.com/en/Cheap-Calls/Liberia): a 20% cut on calls to landlines and up to 40% on calls to mobile phones.

Founded in 2006, Rebtel was established to give people around the world an alternative to rip-off rates for making international calls.

Rebtel is the world's largest independent mobile VoIP company. Millions of people worldwide regularly use Rebtel to make international calls to loved ones at home for just pennies per minute. Rebtel works with any phone. There's nothing to download, upload, or install. No contracts, monthly fees or hidden costs. No special access numbers, PIN numbers or long international phone numbers to remember and enter. Rebtel customers only pay super-cheap calling rates (http://www.rebtel.com/en/Rates/Rates) for the minutes they use, and free calling is always an option between 50 countries where Rebtel is available. To start using Rebtel, go to http://www.rebtel.com.

SOURCE: Rebtel

CONTACT: Greg Spector of Rebtel, +1-415-717-4666, greg.spector@rebtel.com