T-Mobile launches free calls on Facebook

MOBILE OPERATOR T-Mobile has launched Bobsled, a free voice call service for Facebook.

The Bobsled application is T-Mobile's entry into the voice over IP game, giving Facebook's over half a billion users access to free, one-touch calls.

When the application is downloaded Facebook users can access the call service via Facebook Chat. There's no need to dial, as simply clicking a user's name will initiate a call.

The service is similar to Skype in that calls to and from a PC or Mac are free, but the major differentiator is that users will be able to make calls from within the popular social notworking website, which is used by many people who do not use Skype.

Users can also leave voice messages for people on Facebook, which can be public or private - that is, if anything really is private on Facebook.

T-Mobile cited a report produced by itself and Vivox in March, which found that 88 per cent of Facebook users would like voice chat. The INQUIRER imagines that T-Mobile was already working on Bobsled before conducting this research.

The Bobsled brand will also be used by T-Mobile in the future to release other Internet-based voice and data services. It plans to add functionality for making mobile and landline calls in the US, putting it in more direct competition with Skype and Google Voice. Smartphone and tablet apps are also in the works.

Boblsed is available now from its T-Mobile's website or through Facebook, opening up new possibilities for voice communications with hundreds of people you don't really know. µ