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As VoIP takes over voice communications a little more each day, the disrupters such as Twilio (News - Alert), Callfire, and TelAPI take VoIP to a new level by providing APIs the let mobile apps increasingly and easily bypass mobile minutes, and instead use the data network for phone communications.

VoIP-provider Rebtel (News - Alert), which some call Sweden’s smaller answer to Skype, has recently announced the release of its own API to compete with such services as Twilio. The API brings free VoIP-to-VoIP calls for apps that leverage the service.

The SDK released by Rebtel lets iOS and Android (News - Alert) app developers embed Rebtel-based voice calls directly into their app free of charge. There are no plans for an SDK for Windows Mobile or Blackberry, however, according to an article in TechCrunch.

“We expect thousands of developers and project that there will be 10-15 million people using the platform by the end of this year,” said Andreas Bernström, Rebtel’s CEO, according to the TechCrunch piece. Currently Rebtel has roughly 22 million monthly active users.

Thousands of developers have contacted Rebtel from around the world, he said, include those from China, Europe and the U.S., among others.

The company’s plan is to keep the basic VoIP API free and tie into the long tail of small app developers—currently estimated to be around 750,000 developing for iOS and Android—allowing them to easily add voice services to their app at no cost and with minimal effort.

Rebtel will make money from the service by adding paid elements over time, including group calling and charging for terminating calls to landlines, which is how Rebtel currently makes its money.

“In the beginning we have no intention to make money from this,” he said. “The bandwidth cost for us is relatively small so if someone has hundreds of thousands of users it’s not a problem.” Consumers will see a small logo for Rebtel appear before they get connected when they use an app that leverages the Rebtel API.

The API supports the lower end of the app market, which is consistent with the company’s focus on the low-cost user market. But the API also should move it up to the higher-spending smartphone users. Currently, roughly 60 percent of its user base are on feature phone, with only 40 percent on smartphones. By embedding its service into a multitude of apps, it should move its market share more toward smartphone users.

While the API is specifically useful for small developers, Rebtel has noted that the service is able to handle calls in the millions and several larger app developers have approached them about using the API. Adding a service level guarantee for larger firms is another way the company might monetize the offering.