T-Mobile expands Bobsled's reach to mobile, landlines

T-Mobile Bobsled, which in April launched as an in-browser app that let Facebook users call their friends anywhere in the world for free, this week announced it was expanding its service to allow users to call their friends' mobile and landlines.

For the moment, Bobsledders can only place those calls to friends in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Callers can call from within their browser, or on Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android and Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iOS mobile devices.

The move by the wireless company to VoIP isn't as much of a reach as it seems.

Recent Informa Telecom & Media research has VoIP services accounting for 20 percent of all voice activities in 2011; that number is expected to double in 2014.

Brad Duea, SVP of Value Added Services for T-Mobile, told GigaOm that Bobsled allowed T-Mobie to "reach beyond our network coverage and other carriers hardware." It's a move that positions T-Mobile as a potential leader in this space., GigaOm points out.

For more:
- see this GigaOm article
- see this FierceMobileContent article

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T-Mobile's Bobsled lets you phone a friend on Facebook, and it's free and easy to use