Orange VoIP App Libon Released On App Store

Orange has officially launched Libon, a VoIP application for smartphones that will allow users to make free calls and texts to other Libon users around the world. The iPhone version is on the App Store now, with an Android version to be released early next year.

Libon will compete directly with similar services such as Skype, Viber and WhatsApp, which have become increasingly popular with smartphone users in recent times, threatening mobile operators’ traditional revenue streams.

Libon Orange VoIP app

The free version of Libon includes free calls, instant messages and voicemail services, with a premium version costing £1.99 a month through a subscription on iTunes. This includes one hour of international calls to landlines or mobiles in 31 countries, unlimited greetings for voicemails, transcript of voicemails and recordings of voicemails included in notification emails. If users want to use Libon voicemail for normal calls, they will be taken out of normal call allowances.

Orange is the latest operator to release its own VoIP app in an effort to recapture traffic from VoIP and messaging services. Ovum said in a report earlier this year that the increased use of social messaging applications had cost mobile operators $13.9 billion (£8.8bn) in lost SMS revenues in 2011.

Telefonica has created its own VoIP service Tu Go, which lets customers of selected networks read messages, make calls and receive voicemails on a smartphone, tablet or PC, with communications stored in the cloud. Telefonica has said that the app will be coming to the UK later this year in the form of O2 Connect.

We spoke to Libon chief product officer Giles Corbett at Le Web in London earlier this year. You can watch the interview below.

What do you know about Libon’s bitter rival Skype? Find out with our quiz!