Mobiles - Cheap international roaming

tight-git

thanks for that, IF these contract (or pay n go) network allows 0800 calls then Alpha calls will be good value. thing is though, isnt it just like in the UK, they can change and i get hit with a massive bill ! also contract phone, would that be difficult as i dont live there! no fixed address?!
i think i will have to ask the chap in the internet cafe' where i brought this proximus card from.-btw it was 25 euro with 15euro credit .

andy88_2

I think 2 Belgian networks have free 0800, but the site where I check this sort of thing has changed and it's not there any more; so I'm sort of assuming from you that Proximus is the one that isn't.

I have a brother living in Brussels and could ask him to find out; it might be a bit of a chore, and their (his wife's work) phone is also Proximus; maybe it's easier for you. I had a look on the Base site and didn't find it yet

carmenes82

Andy88 - my article is still a work in progress. My dismissive attitude is not my attitude, but the attitude of the majority of people. I think it says a lot than 20+ people voted in my poll to say roaming charges were too high, yet you've had a surprisingly small amount of feedback to your arguably more interesting post offering a solution at lower cost.

Perhaps it's the time of year? Come July people will be more keen!!

Car.

paja

I would be finding out more on this as i spend a fortune on daughters calls abroad.She currently uses orange pay as you go and has reason to visit many european countries, mainly italy spain portugaland czech areas generally a week at a time. Call costs in UK may amount to 2 or 3 pound per month but abroad it can be up to £50 a week to receive cals as well as the costs from our landline to call a mobile number. If she were to go to these countries and just buy a local pay as you go sim could that be put into a second phone so that can be used to receive international calls from the UK. would i then only need to dial the international number from a UK land line and then the actual number of the new sim card which would mean i have UK land line call charges but no costs against the phone to receive calls?

Not sure if i have fully asked or phrased the question right but i think you will get my drift..help and guidance on this would be appreciated

paul

Edinburghlass_2

Stick around Paul and Andy will be able to help you, whether you understand it or not is another matter, lol, as it all goes over my head

Welcome to MSE.

andy88_2

Paul that is correct; a local SIM has no incoming call charges in its own country (well not European ones anyway - USA, Canada, Russia and others).

If you use Martin's Callchecker (in the dark header bar on other phone pages), you can find the cost of calling European mobiles from your home phone using cheap call providers. Typical costs will be 15p per minute.

For the calls your daughter makes, direct international calls are again expensive on payg on most networks - typically around €0.50 to €1 per minute, though there are some cheap ones in some countries. In some countries calls to the equivalent of 0800 numbers are free; it can be possible to make calls using a calling card service, but some access numbers are recognised and blocked (my brother lives in Germany and I've had him check several on Vodafone). Another possibility is to use a separate callback service; these rely on asymmetric tariff differences (in other words you could call her cheaper than she could call you). A short call is made to a trigger number then hung up; the system then calls back with a dialling tone and the desired number is entered. Costs can be in the same sort of range I mentioned before - typ 13p to 20p per minute.

All of this description so far applies to a local SIM card used in one country. If taking it roaming elsewhere, it will incur incoming charges as well, so it would be best to get a new card for the next country.

The SIM card referred to earlier, and in the thread Martin started, has the remarkable feature that the incoming calls are free in over 60 countries (in fact they've just added China) and it is usable in about 50 others at lower charges than roaming a UK SIM (unfortunately the Americas seem to be more expensive than other countries - about €1).

Its outgoing call charges in the cheap countries are €0.39 per minute and €0.25 to connect the call, ie roughly 28p per minute and 18p connect. It uses its own version of a callback system; you dial the required destination number, it cuts off then calls back and you are connected to the destination. (In fact some payg SIMs from various countries use similar in some other countries with say a *111* prefix.)

This SIM has a Liechtenstein mobile number. The country is so small (33,000 inhabitants - about 10 miles by 5) that some cheap calls phone companies do not provide service to there (I've sent messages to 18866 and 1899). In addition others do not connect. This may be partly because the +423663 prefix is undefined by some operators, but also there is a wide range of tariffs from bulk carriers and the cheapest has turned out to be unreliable. This is why such services as Simply-Fone don't provide this destination any longer - it can't be paid for from the revenue from their access numbers. Several of the cheap calls providers 0871 numbers do not work either.

So, overall there are two main reasons for some of the scepticism above. One, that calls are unreliable. And two, as carmenes82 said, that it is more expensive than using a single country SIM in its own country if you are making mainly local calls; and also the cost for local friends calling you.

However, it is possible to use a separate callback provider with this SIM, hence my suggestion of call rates around 6 or 7p. It is not as simple to operate though, as it requires 2 phones. The first callback cannot be used to generate the second, as the second is so fast it diverts to the voicemail (you're trying to ring yourself up via a different number). So the trigger call is made with the separate phone; there is no charge for this call as you hang up after the first ring.

I hope this summarises the choices in general terms, and explains the relative merits. I'm sorry that is rather elaborate to explain, and as Edinburghlass suggests will go over many people's heads. I hope it's enough to be going on with for now, and will help some people choose which option for them.

More details on SIMs later.

tight-git

hi all MSE , i am still looking for more ways to SAVE when abroad in Belgium, can anyone provide some info on this GPRS service? like i know its cheapish (1 euro for 100k data) to receive , but what about sending (if sending is possible) etc . currently using a belgium payandgo proxiums (voda) sim card.
thanks in advance :O)

abulhasnat

i am going to dubai at the end of this month for 6 nights.what is my best option for telephoning uk/receiving calls from uk when there?
apologies if this is wrong thread to put this on

andy88_2

There is a single GSM network in the Emirates, called Etisalat. If you get a prepaid SIM for an unlocked phone, then calls are fairly cheap, though the initial cost does not include a huge credit. Here is a paste of an email I sent a friend about 3 months ago

http://www.etisalat.co.ae/html/custom_info/tariffguide/gsm_mobile_telephones.htm

exch rate 6.87 dirham /£ card £25 w £1.50 credit ; top-up £7

local calls 3.5p ; 2.5p

IDD rates UK peak; offpk 2.69; 1.91 39p; 28p

As you see, local calls very cheap, and to UK from 28p. I vaguely recall the peak hours were not a full day - maybe 1 to 4 pm?

For people to call you, if they have an account with 18866 or 1899, calls are 15p or 12p. The Int'l Callchecker that Martin provides shows rates of about 13p, but this price would apply only from a landline.

If people are calling you from a mobile, then the service of Simply-Fone will allow calls from the incusive minutes on O2 and T-mobile contracts. Other networks charge for their access numbers now.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/callchecker/
http://www.simply-fone.com/

paja

Andy88.
Your knowledge in this ares seems imense :T . would it be possible for you to provide the infomation on SIMS abroad which you mentioned you would do in an earlier response. One specific in mind is for Slovakia-travelling on 22/5 for a week. generally i top up £50 at a time amounted to circa £600 last year and i really need a way to reduce this. Orange say that there will not be much if anysaving using a contract fone as there are very few domestic/text calls.

thanks in advance

paul