I remember reading on this forum last year that China has outlawed ALL VOIP service (except those owned by Chinese companies and certain large corporations with really deep pockets.). That would mean that they could at their chosen time and schedule shut them all down. Perhaps they are starting with Rebtel. Who will be next? Skype? Magic jack?
I have never tried skype although I have it installed on my cell phone as a backup just in case. I hope they don't try to block MJ because that has been my old reliable for many years. I have two and since my Colorado phone numbers follow me, it is oh so convenient to just throw them into my language when I go on a holiday. Here I am in Beihai and by just plugging it into my laptop or any other PC I can make domestic calls as though I was setting in my home in Colorado. And my kids can reach me no matter where in the world I am. And all the calls are free.
Shaun, There is another service that I use to call China. It is called localphone. You get a local number that you can map to any number in china, When you call that number it is forwarded to China for 2.5 cents a minute. You can get a series of numbers on the same account so you can use a different number to call her at home, her cell or at work. The extra numbers don't cost anything. I have 1 mapped to Fiona's cell phone, another to the house phone and another to my Guangzhou cell phone. The only problem with this service is that it is only one way. You can call china from the US but they cant call you. But when her internet service is down it is a lifesaver because magic jack depends on the internet.