Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

kiwifruit_2

check out www.alphatelecom.co.uk - I used to use them regularly for calling NZ and never had a problem. They are a prepay service and thats easily done online and you can call landline to landline at 3p per minute. The only reason I dont use them now is that I got a good international calling package when I switched to sky.

cretan_girl

kiwifruit wrote: »

check out www.alphatelecom.co.uk - I used to use them regularly for calling NZ and never had a problem. They are a prepay service and thats easily done online and you can call landline to landline at 3p per minute. The only reason I dont use them now is that I got a good international calling package when I switched to sky.

Something else to investigate.
Thanks

Cavey

cretan_girl wrote: »

Skype would be a good idea if he was any good with a computer, sadly he isn't.
Thanks for your help.

Sorry for not being clear. I was not implying that your husband would need to use a computer, but that you could ring him on his hotel room phone using skype from your computer.

My girlfriend recently went to El Salvador and I rang her in her hotel room using Skype on my PC using Skype-out credit. It cost 7p a minute and the hardest part was figuring out how to say "I would like to speak to room 417 please" in Spanish (ok, the first time I bottled it and asked if they spoke English, but I tried in the end).

When she was in South Africa I used a TalkTalkMobile (formerly Mobile World) SIM in an unlocked handset, but for El Salvador it's 12.5p (which I would gladly pay) and would mean I needed to get a new SIM (which would mean I'd have to wait until the next day). The best bit about this is you can do it anywhere, whereas with Skype you need a stable net connection.

benjus

Skype is not usually the cheapest way of making calls to landlines or mobiles, although the inclusive monthly plans are not bad if you're a heavy user.

I use Nonoh (www.nonoh.net) a lot - this offers free calls to many countries if you buy some call credit. Their rates for Greece are 0p/min to a landline, or 7p/min to a mobile (if your husband gets a Greek SIM card). You can use the service either from a PC (by downloading the Nonoh software), using a combination of your landline and the Nonoh website, or using an access number.

cretan_girl

Cavey wrote: »

Sorry for not being clear. I was not implying that your husband would need to use a computer, but that you could ring him on his hotel room phone using skype from your computer.

My girlfriend recently went to El Salvador and I rang her in her hotel room using Skype on my PC using Skype-out credit. It cost 7p a minute and the hardest part was figuring out how to say "I would like to speak to room 417 please" in Spanish (ok, the first time I bottled it and asked if they spoke English, but I tried in the end).

When she was in South Africa I used a TalkTalkMobile (formerly Mobile World) SIM in an unlocked handset, but for El Salvador it's 12.5p (which I would gladly pay) and would mean I needed to get a new SIM (which would mean I'd have to wait until the next day). The best bit about this is you can do it anywhere, whereas with Skype you need a stable net connection.

Sorry I was being a bit dim there - looking at it from his point of view not mine. Thanks.

cretan_girl

benjus wrote: »

Skype is not usually the cheapest way of making calls to landlines or mobiles, although the inclusive monthly plans are not bad if you're a heavy user.

I use Nonoh (www.nonoh.net) a lot - this offers free calls to many countries if you buy some call credit. Their rates for Greece are 0p/min to a landline, or 7p/min to a mobile (if your husband gets a Greek SIM card). You can use the service either from a PC (by downloading the Nonoh software), using a combination of your landline and the Nonoh website, or using an access number.

This also looks interesting, just had it up on screen
Will go back to it later.
Ta.

BigSaver_2

Will the Nokia 2310 work in Egypt?

Thank you

redux

BigSaver wrote: »

Will the Nokia 2310 work in Egypt?

Thank you

It should do. You might need to get it unlocked if you want to use a local or global SIM card (which would be cheaper - see above)

Trust_2

i do a lot of travelling, asia/usa europe, of course need to take calls, also need to make calls when traveliing,

Of course always come home to massive bills,

Any ideas!

redux

Trust wrote: »

i do a lot of travelling, asia/usa europe, of course need to take calls, also need to make calls when traveliing,

Of course always come home to massive bills,

Any ideas!

There are global roaming SIMs with free incoming calls in several but not all countries. In some places, such as in USA, all roamers are charged more, so the only way to have cheap calls is with a local SIM card.

Then some SIMs have cheap international calls themselves, while with others you'd use a calling card or a callback service (which makes an incoming call to you, and one to your destination). Also, for people calling you, you'd need to arrange a suitable call diversion of your normal number, or tell some of them about using cheap calls providers to reach you.

Read Martin's article and the rest of this thread for ideas