Viber Announces New International Rates

Viber looks poised to take on Skype in a big way. The VOIP calling and messaging company today announced a new service called Viber Out that would be pushed alongside the 4.1 update of its cross-platform app, which runs on both Android and iOS devices, as well as desktops.

Viber Out will allow users to dial out to any mobile or landline number worldwide at rates that put Skype and other similar services to shame. According to the company, a Skype Out call in the U.S. or Canada costs 11.8¢, while the same call costs only 5.7¢ through Viber Out, a difference of 107 percent. The contrast between the two services only grows starker from there. Calling Mexico costs 40.4¢ per minute via Skype, while Viber only charges 6.9¢, a difference of 486 percent.

“Viber Out gives our millions of users a new way to use Viber and ensures that they can reach any contact at any time,” said Talmon Marco, CEO of Viber in a press statement. “We will continue to improve Viber Out, keeping our users connected at the most affordable rates possible.”

One of Viber’s biggest competitive advantages is that unlike most VOIP services, it displays the user’s normal phone number to callers. The desktop version of the app also boasts integration with your address book.  Viber Out users utilizing the app can buy credits via in-app purchases, while desktop users can just use their credit cards.

The company says it first activated the Viber Out feature following Typhoon Haiyan for users in the Philippines. Partnering with Globe Telecom, Viber allowed users to reach friends and family members in the Philippines for free.  

Viber has struck agreements with a number of companies to provide the new service, including Telecom Austria, Telecom New Zealand, Hutchison, Bharti Airtel, Telecom Italia, Citic, Netvision Cellcom, Mada Communication and Omantel.