international calls

Woody76

Hi everyone

I have had some advice on this site yesterday about this but I am just wanting some clarification as feeling a bit thick lol

I call my dad on his mobile in Ireland (CoKerry) reguarly but it costs a fortune. The advice yesterday I think was to get an irish sim card to save costs. If I was able to get one would I be able to use it in this country and be charged as if he was in the same country when calling him ie charged local number. I thought that it would charge me as if I was making a call from abroad which is expensive ???

I am very confused so sorry to ramble all this technology i find very baffling

Woody xx

NFH

Woody76 wrote: »

The advice yesterday I think was to get an irish sim card to save costs. If I was able to get one would I be able to use it in this country and be charged as if he was in the same country when calling him ie charged local number. I thought that it would charge me as if I was making a call from abroad which is expensive ???

This is what you can do:

• Order a free O2 Ireland SIM card for delivery to your UK address.
• Don't add any credit to it.
• Register the SIM for Travel rates at www.o2online.ie, which causes incoming roaming calls to be free when roaming on the O2 UK network.
• Put the SIM in a spare phone.
• Your father can then call your Irish 086 mobile number at his network's normal rate for calls to an 086 Irish O2 number; this may come out of his inclusive minutes if he has them.
• You will receive the call without any charge in the UK.

You can also use the SIM if you go to Ireland in order to avoid the roaming charges that you'd incur with a UK SIM card.

You don't need to start a new thread for this. You can post follow-up questions in your original thread. Admin - please merge this and the original thread.

mchale

I presume you are in the UK calling a Irish mobile from a UK mobile, if that is the case send your dad a O2 payg sim card with my europe extra on it, you can then call that number free out of your inclusive mins

Woody76

Thank you for your replies they have been most helpful xxx

NFH

mchale wrote: »

I presume you are in the UK calling a Irish mobile from a UK mobile, if that is the case send your dad a O2 payg sim card with my europe extra on it, you can then call that number free out of your inclusive mins

This is a similar suggestion to mine but in reverse. Your decision whether to use my suggestion or this one should depend on who has more inclusive minutes to spare. If you have more inclusive minutes to spare, then get an O2 UK SIM for your father; if he has more inclusive minutes to spare, then get an O2 Ireland SIM for yourself. You could always do both.

benjus

Another option is www.voipgain.com - calls cost €0.03/min to Irish mobiles.

From a mobile, you can access this service by dialling an access number (which comes from your inclusive minutes) then dialling the destination number. On most mobiles you can program the whole dialling sequence into a phonebook entry so you don't have to do it manually.

If you have a smartphone, there's an app called MobileVoip which automates this process and also lets you make calls over Wifi.

grumbler

benjus wrote: »

Another option is www.voipgain.com - calls cost €0.03/min to Irish mobiles.

From a mobile, you can access this service by dialling an access number (which comes from your inclusive minutes) then dialling the destination number. On most mobiles you can program the whole dialling sequence into a phonebook entry so you don't have to do it manually.

This company is a joke.
They show €0.03/min in the 'Rates', but then, when you chose UK to Ireland, Access Number, you see:"Not available to this destination".
For SMS(!) you do see €0.03/min(!) - whatever this means.

benjus

grumbler wrote: »

This company is a joke.
They show €0.03/min in the 'Rates', but then, when you chose UK to Ireland, Access Number, you see:"Not available to this destination".
For SMS(!) you do see €0.03/min(!) - whatever this means.

I use providers from the Betamax network (I currently use www.cheapvoip.com and previously used www.nonoh.net and VoIPgain.com is also part of Betamax) for all my international calls and have done for several years. I can assure you they are not a joke.

I can't access their website from work, only from my phone, which gives a different view, so I'm not sure what you saw. However, the access numbers are shared between different Betamax providers, and they certainly have UK access numbers. Once you've dialled an access number you can access any destination.

It's probably just a glitch on their website.

Woody76

HI benjus

Thanks for your reply. Sorry to be thick but I have some more questions.
Why does the provider not charge you (or me lol) as if you are dialing abroad is it because they route it through a local number??
If I use this access number can I just confirm it will come off my inclusive minutes on my plan with vodafone
If I got an irish sim card would I not be charged as if I was abroad ringing home and would an irish sim card even work in the uk??
Thanks for your help
Sorry if I sound thick but finding it difficult to get my head around this

Woody xx

NFH

Woody76 wrote: »

If I got an irish sim card would I not be charged as if I was abroad ringing home and would an irish sim card even work in the uk??

You will receive calls on your Irish SIM card, not make calls. Receiving calls is free. Yes, Irish SIM cards work in the UK; roaming agreements exist between most networks internationally so that people can travel and continue using their phones.