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Orange launches smartphone app for free calls, texts

Telecom operators around the globe have suffered as free calling and texting services have proliferated over the past few years. The apps allow users to communicate without using their voice or text allotments, leading some operators like KPN to complain about the hit to their bottom line.

Giles Corbett, who developed the application called 'Libon' for Orange, said telecom operators needed to come up with equivalent services.

"The situation is really simple - either you deliver the most compelling service or your users switch to something else. What's the alternative? We want to be in there," he said in an interview.

The application can be used by any iPhone user for free, while the company charges for some premium features like transcripts of voicemail or email copies of voicemails.

Libon will be available for smartphones using Google's Android software in the first quarter of 2013. Telefonica also launched a similar app, called Tu Me, in May, while Deutsche Telekom has one known as Bobsled.

Source: Reuters

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