The International CallChecker discussion thread 2

simonwien_2

In todays e mail it said about you phoning Romania well with TalkTalk International 3 its now inclusive yes I know its TalkTalk but I got to say I have had NO problems in the past few months with them when I did have a question for them I even spoke to someone in the UK amazing or what?
When I first signed up to them I wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy but now I say its a good deal, be even better when I get the free Internet and not pay £10 but this is another matter.
Simon, Kempston, Bedford

Heinz

simonwien wrote: »

When I first signed up to them I wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy but now I say its a good deal, be even better when I get the free Internet and not pay £10 but this is another matter.

The fact that you're having to pay that £10 means your exchange is not yet LLU 'unbundled' (i.e. TT don't yet have their own equipment in your exchange and are currently really just re-selling BT's products to you).

From other posts, it appears the LLU 'upgrade' is the stage at which problems started for many. I hope that doesn't happen to you.

far

vman wrote: »

If you had the good sense to buy a router instead of a rubbish broadband modem, then you might as well buy a IP phone and plug it straight into a spare port on that – it means that you do not need your PC switched on to make, and more importantly, receive calls. Better still, invest about £40 in an IAD and you can plug your normal phone in – remember, if you use DEC phones (like most people seem to) then you only need one phone connected to line (so no re-wiring).

One more thing though: some routers - such as the Thomson Speedtouch 716/780 as I have found out since joining Be Unlimited - will accept normal BT plug phones without the need for IADs or anything else. Just plug in (using the supplied adapter), configure and go!

far

There seem to be issues with the International Call Checker not updating prices for calls to Kenya from the 05pence and Abroadcall websites - both have now gone up to 4pm a minute and say so on their site but neither the Call Checker here nor on Niftylist have picked this up yet - any thoughts why?

Heinz

far wrote: »

There seem to be issues with the International Call Checker not updating prices for calls to Kenya from the 05pence and Abroadcall websites - both have now gone up to 4pm a minute and say so on their site but neither the Call Checker here nor on Niftylist have picked this up yet - any thoughts why?

The incongruously-named http://www.05pence.co.uk/ is now showing 4p/minute (0844 399 05 05) but the near-identical site of http://www.abroadtel.co.uk/ is now showing 5p/minute (0844 452 00 05).

I've e-mailed Callchecker admin.

Former_MSE_CheckerMan

Far,

The International CallChecker is showing the correct rates for Kenya - the list updates daily, FYI.

Also, you have to be careful with names of some providers, as currently this is AbroadCall, AbroadPhone and AbroadTel!

Thanks,
MSE CheckerMan

Heinz

MSE_CheckerMan wrote: »

Also, you have to be careful with names of some providers, as currently this is AbroadCall, AbroadPhone and AbroadTel!

My mistake, not far's - I misread the Abroadcall far quoted and checked the Abroadtel website!

As you say, the similarity of names (and, in fact, the layout of the websites) makes it easy to mix them up.

z1000000

Hi. For calls to Riyadh at the moment, Call Happy.co.uk is 2p a min.
I can see why they don't show up on the call checker or nifty List, as they have different prices to different parts of Saudi.
So I don't know how they could be added to the system, but I thought I would mention it.
X

BexTech

vman wrote: »

I see the money-saving tip email talks about PC-PC calls – but lets face, making calls sat in front of a computer is a bit rubbish (esp. if you work in IT – because both of you are on PCs, the person you are talking inevitably turns the conversation to you fixing all the gripes they have with their PC ).

If you had the good sense to buy a router instead of a rubbish broadband modem, then you might as well buy a IP phone and plug it straight into a spare port on that – it means that you do not need your PC switched on to make, and more importantly, receive calls. Better still, invest about £40 in an IAD and you can plug your normal phone in – remember, if you use DECT phones (like most people seem to) then you only need one phone connected to line (so no re-wiring).

If you go with a voip provider like sipgate.co.uk, then you can have a free geographical number (i.e. an 020, etc number that non voip users can call).

I understand that NTL offer a broadband-only for about £10. I reckon that’s the cheapest way to get VOIP connected as you would no longer need to pay BT line rental.

Sorry if this is gibberish – I’m typing in a hurry!

This is what I've been doing for 2.5 years over cable broadband, an ATA with two lines and my home phones corded and DECT connected, I have a Sipgate line with local number and a VoIPStunt line with local number (I could use one of the other Betamax VoIP services, but I'm happy with the local number they issued me, very memorable).

I have a Linksys PAP2 ATA connected to my router, it's set up so anyone using wouldn't even notice it wasn't a normal phone line, with Sipgate you can call other Sipgate users (plus some some other VoIP providers who have peering arrangements for free) and with VoIPStunt or the other Betamax services you can call any other Betamax VoIP customer for free (though with these you need to add the usernames to a speed dial or make a dial-plan for them, as you can't dial letters on a normal phone).

With both companies like the other VoIP providers, the other person you are calling can be using a PC or an ATA or a router with built-in VoIP.

muniuni

I don't really have time to do too much site searching to see if this has already been listed. But for international calls it may be worth your while checking out the phone cards you can buy for 5 or 10 pounds. Quite a lot of people I speak to seem not to have heard of these, but they can be bought locally mainly from asian shops. Check their windows for posters with prices listed per country. Some do have a connection charge, but for long calls this becomes of a lessened impact. The card I used last week has UK-Australia listed as 1 pence per minute.

In principle you dial either an 0800 number ( or sometimes a local charge number) enter a secirity code from the card, followed by your number. The call will usually tell you time remaining.