Member Article

How to Save Money on International Calls

Leaving abroad, we have to carefully monitor the expenses on mobile communications. In order you won’t be shocked by the bills of mobile calls, we have prepared a story about how you can save money on calls abroad. Today, operators offer a number of special packages and availability of high-speed mobile Internet has given entirely new ways for mobile telephony

Special SIM-card for tourism

Tourist SIM-card was popular for a long time and is mainly attractive by its moderate rates compared to what awaits us in roaming by using your country SIM card. These virtual cards are served by GSM-operators who do not have their own network and are engaged only in roaming. By purchasing such a card, you get a European mobile number. For example, it can be Estonian or Latvian. The reduction is achieved through the use of call-back mechanism (call-back). In other words, your outgoing call operator converts the incoming (free in many countries). In practice, it occurs easily. You type in the caller’s phone number in international format “+ country code - city code or mobile operator - user number.” After several buzzes, your call is rejected and you will receive an incoming call. However, in some phones, this method will not work. In this case, you must look in the travel SIM-card menu and select «Call» subparagraph. Then dial the local phone number in international format. Further, all the same, will happen. To simplify some operators offer special application smartphone owners.

Calls on the tourist SIM card corresponds to the billing of international calls to Estonia or Latvia. In order not to make friends and partners pay extra money for communication with you, you can activate the special service “local number”, but in this case, all incoming calls with its participation will be for you to pay. The starter pack will cost $ 17-100, depending on conditions and services of a particular company. Part of the funds credited to the account of the subscriber.

All of the following methods offer price per minute, starting from the moment of receiving the call. The exact price of a call for each direction can be found on the operator’s website. In the article, we will indicate only the minimum value. Buying a starter pack, you need to remember that the number will be revoked if within a certain time (usually 1-2 years), the number is not replenished and there are no calls made from it.

Mobile applications

Roaming charges are much less than the usual if you use mobile applications. It an option for those who are well acquainted with the latest technologies and have already smartphone. Nowadays there are a large number of such native apps for both Android and iPhone that are based on the VoIP technology and allows you to send messages, images, and video, and besides all, to make calls. But the thing is you recipient should have the same app on his phone. The most popular apps are well known such as Skype, WhatsUp, Viber and other less popular but still allowing the same basic features. Here one should remember, if you are making an app to app communication it will be free of charge, but your smartphone should have an internet connection. The quality of communication will largely depend on the internet connection quality, and if the messages chats can be good, at the same time calls can be with interruptions or less good sound. The same situation with the calls from outside the country, first to make a call to your motherland you need to find an internet connection, second be sure your recipient have the same app on a smartphone.

But, what if your recipient is your granny, who have an only landline telephone, of you parents still use the simple mobile phone which is unable to support skype?then there are solutions that take all management in their hands, you need only top up your account and dial a number. Such services usually provide a way to make calls from the website directly, from so-called webphone. At first, you need to sign up for such a service that log in and recharge your account. The prices for the international calls usually low, as they use VoIP technology for processing your call, which appears to be relatively cheap. So 1 USD is enough to call your granny ones or even twice. Also, there are desktop apps of such services, to install to PC and make calls from there. Such software after installing ask to enter your account which is synchronized with the web account, so you still need to register on the web first. And the last, such services usually have got mobile apps for calls, which are also synchronized with you account.

For example, there is recently developed app CallnSpeak offering cheap voip calls to mobile and fixed numbers. There are CallnSpeak Android and iPhone app free of charge. After uploading and registration, one needs to top up an account and then can start calling.

I’ve used if to check if everything the producer promises is true. So, really its operation is very simple. To make a cheap call: select the home country, enter the number. Besides, if you call some country very often the service has prepared pricing packages for special destinations. So, users can select the package and call even cheaper to such countries as Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Turkey, Pakistan and Philippines.

The service uses per minute calls charging, with no hidden fees and fee. The fee will be deducted from your account CallnSpeak only for international calls using your regular number. Rates may vary depending on the country.

The conclusion

If you go abroad, it always depends on several things, whether you need serious preparations or not. Of course going abroad for a long time, requires beforehand preparations, and you have to plan everything if you want not to spend much money. The planning includes everything: hotel or flat, transport expenses, or car rental, roaming calls or saving proposals for international calls by VoIP. It’s for you to choose!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Julia .