Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

jordylass · 25 October 2007 at 6:50PM

Thanks for your help, I have now managed to set it up and tested. O2 is also working as you said, I must have gotten a CS that didn't know about it first time.
Which will be most cost effective, home calling my mobile, making the call through just voip, or using a sim from lebara?

redux · 25 October 2007 at 8:10PM

For outgoing calls, with vat, JustVoip is 7.8 cents/min, and Lebara 6.7c a minute + about 40-something cents connection fee. I think I'd go with O2 mainly, but maybe get the SIM anyway, out of curiosity.

For people calling you, if they are calling from a mobile they'll prefer a UK mobile. From a landline, I think reaching the UK one will be slightly cheaper, but check the MSE Callchecker

jen_jen_2 · 17 November 2007 at 10:27PM

i'm off to the US next week and i was intending to use my own phone but put a US payg sim into it, however its locked onto the three network. my friend has a nokia thats not locked but isnt tri-band. Any ideas on the cheapest way to get a handset that will work in the US? i dont want to call the UK, just going with a few friends and would like to be able to call them while i'm there to meet up, make plans etc. 3 tell me it will cost £1.25 per minute to call them from my contract phone.

Browntoa · 17 November 2007 at 10:31PM

Walmart do this for $15

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5740963

jen_jen_2 · 17 November 2007 at 10:47PM

what a good idea, buy a phone out there - i am sooo dense sometimes :wall: :wall::mad: :wall:

Thank you;)

pin · 21 November 2007 at 10:52AM

don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I use "3 like home". has saved me lots of money.

visit another 3 country and its like you are in the uk. no roaming charges for incoming calls from the uk, and calling to the uk is like when you are calling in the uk with the use of your inclusive minutes. same goes for text messages as well.

casestudy1 · 6 December 2007 at 11:09AM

Hi - I'm off travelling with my family to south America for 6 months. I've bought a blackberry to be able to access email, and changed from T mobile to O2 as they have an unlimited data bundle for abroad. However I can't work out what the cheapest/easiest way of making calls to the UK and US. From looking at this forum it looks like a local sim in an existing handset? Does anyone have an tips specifcally for South America- mainly Argentina/Chile/Peru. Thanks so much......

mzungu74 · 6 December 2007 at 5:15PM

Hi All,

A good phone story for you...

I headed off to the Rugby World Cup final in Paris in October. After perhaps one too many appletisers, I called my friends in South Africa to congratulate them on the victory. Indeed I called three sets of friends, for about 25 mins in total...

When I got home, I was dreading my next phone bill. I have called SA once or twice from the UK, and its a whopping 1.40 (plus tax) a minute on Vodafone....goodness knows what calling SA from another country would be..

Well my bill came in a couple of weeks back and I was pleasantly surprised- turns out to call South Africa from Paris on Vodafone is 37p a minute. I was stunned!

Therefore (and I used the flight checker to double check this) it's cheaper to catch a flight to Paris (£20 return inc taxes) call my friends in SA for one hour (£22.20, so total £42.20), and then catch a flight home, than it is to call Jo'burg from my house (£84)!

This seems ridiculous!

Has anyone else had an experience like this?

M74

redux · 6 December 2007 at 9:55PM

casestudy1 wrote: »

Hi - I'm off travelling with my family to south America for 6 months. I've bought a blackberry to be able to access email, and changed from T mobile to O2 as they have an unlimited data bundle for abroad. However I can't work out what the cheapest/easiest way of making calls to the UK and US. From looking at this forum it looks like a local sim in an existing handset? Does anyone have an tips specifcally for South America- mainly Argentina/Chile/Peru. Thanks so much......

Can you show us where to find the roaming data bundle?

I think you will end up with local SIM cards, as none of the global SIMs have cheap rates in Argentina or Peru.

Compare networks and tariffs at http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/operators.html

It will probably be worth looking into callthrough arrangements (eg DialNow for Argentina) or callback services to work around outgoing international rates.

In the first you dial an access number, maybe a PIN, then the destination. Callback sets up an incoming call to your phone, then one to the destination, triggered by various methods like an unanswered call to another number , or sms, wap/grps data from maybe a Java client, then you get a dialtone on answer or your predefined destination ringing.

casestudy1 · 7 December 2007 at 10:11AM

Thanks redux....
I'll check out the comparison site, and see if I can get my head round 'callthrough' - though it sounds quite complicated for my limited spanish.

I got the info on the unlimited roaming data bundle abroad from Carphone Warehouse. There doesn't seem to be any literature on it, but as my whole phone strategy relied on it I made absolutely sure it was real..... you have to have the uk roaming, and then call o2 to switch. It costs £23.50 a month and you have to have it for 3 months minimum. Their ref; Hades 191

Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

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