Calling another country – your options

We all know that calling someone in another country can be expensive, but if you use your mobile phone to do it, those costs can mount up bewilderingly fast. Many people can’t imagine life without a mobile but if you can, being flexible will save you a lot of money in the long run. Here are some options for how to cut down costs when calling another country:

• Use Voip (Voice over Internet Protocol). That means calling someone over the internet. Currently the costs associated with this kind of call are much lower compared to mobile phone costs – Skype is one of the most known Voip companies out there. The only thing with this method is that you need internet access, which, depending where one is calling, is not always convenient or even possible. Poor call quality can also be a troublesome factor. Still, if you can do it and get the person on the other end online also (rather than calling a landline or mobile), calls are essentially free – you’ll only be paying for the cost of the internet access.

• Buy a phone card. One of the easiest and commonest solutions to the problem of calling abroad – simply buy a phone card from a vendor with prepaid time on it, follow the instructions and call abroad! The convenience comes with the peace of mind of knowing exactly how much you’re spending at a time, a cheaper call rate and the fact that you can them from any landline.

• If you insist on using your mobile, when it comes to renewing a contract, negotiate hard. This is the best time to bargain because your plan provider will usually be eager to hold on to your custom – use it to your advantage to see if they’ll throw in an international bundle on top of your normal tariff. Or if you’re in the mood to switch your tariff, sign up to Vodafone who have abolished all roaming charges during the summer (June until end of August). This leaves you only having to pay a standard 75p connection fee and whatever your normal call charges would be. If you aren’t already with Vodafone and are likely to be out of the country a lot this summer it could be worth visiting the website and checking out their selection of mobiles, including the latest HTC Desire.

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