Friday, March 27, 2009

Great Way to Save on International Calls

From the Frugal Traveler column in the NY Times, a great explanation of how you can make and receive calls cheaply while overseas:

Staying in Touch Internationally, on the Cheap

When I used to travel a lot to Europe, I had an unlocked quad-band phone and bought a SIM card with a UK number. It was very handy for making local calls, but it was a nuisance to have to tell people back home that I had a different cell phone number.
But back then I didn't have the option of forwarding calls using Skype! And I didn't yet have Google Voice, whose rates for international calling are about half of the lowest rates I'd ever gotten with calling cards! (It's not available to the public yet but since I already used Grand Central I was able to upgrade my account.)

I don't know what I'm more excited by, the "neat-o" technology factor, or the potential for saving money! Unfortunately I don't travel as much these days, or make as many international calls... but hopefully some of you do! Enjoy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My wife and I are moving to Australia in only a couple months and we've been researching this in increasing detail of the last few months. To me, nothing compares to Skype right now as far as unlimited plans are concerned, but I'm extremely eager to see what Google Voice may have in store for us!

Jerry said...

Skype is fantastic. It's huge outside of the US but the word is getting out and may lead to more US users. It has saved us a ton and has been insurance for our happiness by staying in touch with loved ones. It's great. Only downside is you can never reach customer service on the phone...
Jerry
www.leads4insurance.com