Mobile Roaming: Cheapest Calls When You're Abroad

PeDee

Hello this forum is really useful adn I haev read the articles on cheaper calls from and to abroad. However if anyone can clarify this a bit more for me especially as I was not sure of the situation with the US.

I am going to Hawaii (US) for a few weeks and ideally want to be able to call the UK and either take calls or messages from the Uk while I am there, but cheaply.

Some of the calls are from/to family and friends however some be from people who I don't know well and I would like if possible not to have to ignore these due to expense. The calls will be UK - Hawaii and back again

I am with Orange and understand that calls can be really high to and from the UK from abroad.

One of the options , as I think I read it, was to get a US SIM when in Hawaii, but would that just reduce my calls if I was calling to the US?

I was thinking that perhaps an option would be to leave my current mobile over here with a family member who could take regularly take messages, email me the contact details and then I could call back. If I did this what would be the cheapest way of calling from Hawaii? Also this is not ideal or elegant and I wondered if there was any other way of doing taking calls (or messages) from the UK an calling back cheaply.

Thanks

stluke023

Only up untill September 1st Vodafone have free roaming charges just need to have activated Vodafone passport
Ringing UK comes off your inclusive minutes

emmajt81

OK I have a couple of questions - a few of you seem quite clued up! Have been reading lots on google and this site about all this so here goes -

Am going to the USA for business and leisure a few times between now and Christmas. Unfortunately this means I will have to both make calls back to the UK and receive calls from the UK whilst I'm there. Am on Vodafone and even with International Call Saver activated at £2 per month it's stll going to cost a fair bit. So have been looking into getting another sim card, taking another unlocked phone with me and using that for making/receiving calls instead. I just want some opinions on the below -

Been looking at 0044.co.uk - are they genuine i.e. does the SIM arrive once you've parted with your money? They give you a dual SIM with a US and UK number, correct? I don't have much use for the UK number, but I assume I would use the US number for calling back to the UK at a cost of 24p per min to landlines and 36p per min to mobiles, and I would pay 15p per minute to receive calls from the UK? Obviously it may cost my friends/collegues a bit of money to call the US number but hey, it's saving me money! What I don't get, is the site says it uses the T Mobile and/or A T&T networks. But when you look at those networks individual sites, and if you bought a PAYG sim direct from them, their international calling charges are considerably higher - at more like $1 or more per minute. How do 0044.co.uk get it so much cheaper when they are using those networks themselves?

Then I have been looking at Tuyo as reccommended on this thread. Again this is a US number but with cheaper rates than above - although on their website it says it's 25c per min to call UK mobiles but 1.5c per min to call Vodafone in the UK. Does this 1.5c per minute get added onto the 25c per min? Bit confused by that. Also, it says UK landlines are 1.5c per minute. Really? If thats true that's nothing. Can anyone confirm who has used these before? And where do I get Tuyo sims from, I assume I can't get them sent to my UK home before I go? Do I buy them out there?

From what I can see those are the 2 best options for me. If anyone can advise which is best or what they'd reccommend I would be eternally grateful!!!! Thanks!!!

mrcamp

Those global sims for example, 0044.co.uk all use callback. i.e. they route their calls via the internet, and that is the reason for lower rates. Call quality may nt be the best in some cases. It will not cost your UK callers much to call you on a US number. We (in the usa) do not differentiate between mobiles and landlines. We pay for incoming calls. So, that's why it's very cheap to call a US number. My family in the UK can call me for as low as 1p a minute. OTOH, we in the US can call a UK landline for freeor may be 1p-2p/min at the most.

Tuyo, as I have mentioned before, has excellent international rates. The rates even rival and in some cases are better than calling card rates. Yes, the cost is the international rate + the 1.5 cents. The rates quoted are correct. So if a UK land linerate is quoted at 1.5cents, it's actually 3.0 cents because of the additional 1.5 cents. Stillan awesome international rate on a sim card. Tuyo's sims are not as easy to get as say tmobile or AT&T. Ebay, Mobil gas stations, etc. do carry it.

emmajt81 wrote: »

OK I have a couple of questions - a few of you seem quite clued up! Have been reading lots on google and this site about all this so here goes -

Am going to the USA for business and leisure a few times between now and Christmas. Unfortunately this means I will have to both make calls back to the UK and receive calls from the UK whilst I'm there. Am on Vodafone and even with International Call Saver activated at £2 per month it's stll going to cost a fair bit. So have been looking into getting another sim card, taking another unlocked phone with me and using that for making/receiving calls instead. I just want some opinions on the below -

Been looking at 0044.co.uk - are they genuine i.e. does the SIM arrive once you've parted with your money? They give you a dual SIM with a US and UK number, correct? I don't have much use for the UK number, but I assume I would use the US number for calling back to the UK at a cost of 24p per min to landlines and 36p per min to mobiles, and I would pay 15p per minute to receive calls from the UK? Obviously it may cost my friends/collegues a bit of money to call the US number but hey, it's saving me money! What I don't get, is the site says it uses the T Mobile and/or A T&T networks. But when you look at those networks individual sites, and if you bought a PAYG sim direct from them, their international calling charges are considerably higher - at more like $1 or more per minute. How do 0044.co.uk get it so much cheaper when they are using those networks themselves?

Then I have been looking at Tuyo as reccommended on this thread. Again this is a US number but with cheaper rates than above - although on their website it says it's 25c per min to call UK mobiles but 1.5c per min to call Vodafone in the UK. Does this 1.5c per minute get added onto the 25c per min? Bit confused by that. Also, it says UK landlines are 1.5c per minute. Really? If thats true that's nothing. Can anyone confirm who has used these before? And where do I get Tuyo sims from, I assume I can't get them sent to my UK home before I go? Do I buy them out there?

From what I can see those are the 2 best options for me. If anyone can advise which is best or what they'd reccommend I would be eternally grateful!!!! Thanks!!!

emmajt81

OK thats great thanks very much for your help! Theres a couple of Tuyo sims available on eBay so I may just grab myself one of those. How do I top it up, can I buy vouchers at petrol stations and newsstands etc in the US, the same as we can in the UK?

mrcamp

Yes. you can buy Tuyo vouchers at Mobil stations and some other stores. However, being an MVNO using Tmobile's network, for some reason, their sims/vouchers are not as readily available as AT&T and tmobile sims.

A couple of years ago, my brother was able to register and use his UK issued AMEX to top his Tuyo up. I believe he had to call into their customer service to get it done though. You can also try doing it via their website.

emmajt81 wrote: »

OK thats great thanks very much for your help! Theres a couple of Tuyo sims available on eBay so I may just grab myself one of those. How do I top it up, can I buy vouchers at petrol stations and newsstands etc in the US, the same as we can in the UK?

emmajt81

great - thanks very much for your help you've been very useful! bought a sim off eBay today so when it comes I'll look into topping it up online! thanks xx

jevsy

Hi, we're going on a caribbean cruise with a week in a villa following, would it be better (or even possible) for us all to buy PAYG sims in the US (for unlocked phones) in order for us to keep in touch with each other whilst there (teenager!!)?
And also if I took my phone which is locked to T-mobile then would a US T-mobile SIM work ok in it?
Thanks

inmypocketnottheirs

I use a AT&T Cingular PAYG card when around the US.

Not sure about T Mobile US cards and a locked T Mobile UK phone. In my opinion it would be better to get unlocked first to save any problems.

AT&T in my experience offer the best network coverage.

Don't forget on any network in the US you pay to receive calls and texts, irrespective of PAYG or contract. The plus side is all calls within the local area are free as are calls within your network.

HTH

jevsy

inmypocketnottheirs wrote: »

I use a AT&T Cingular PAYG card when around the US.

Not sure about T Mobile US cards and a locked T Mobile UK phone. In my opinion it would be better to get unlocked first to save any problems.

AT&T in my experience offer the best network coverage.

Don't forget on any network in the US you pay to receive calls and texts, irrespective of PAYG or contract. The plus side is all calls within the local area are free as are calls within your network.

HTH

Thanks! We've got enough unlocked phones to manage (hand-me-downs!)
Are the cards easy enough to get hold of over there? We're flying in late to miami for overnight hotel stop, getting to port everglades next day but not in our own car so limited a bit!