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hellkat
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Joined: 12 Jul 2004
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PostPosted: 01:55 - 13 Apr 2018    Post subject: International phone cards? Reply with quote
Whats the cheapest way of calling international these days.
I mean phone calls.

And don't tell me Skype/Facetime/Whatsapp etc, that's not going to happen.

I ought to talk to my mother more often, not necessarily have to look at her (or have her know I'm going for a wee whilst talking to her), and I would like to do it without paying an absolute fortune.

I do have a BT housephone line but its not particularly well set up to make cheap international calls on their "Friends and Family" thing. And my mobile is just ridiculous.

Are there still those cards that they used to have (back in 1997 Laughing ) where you can buy like a tenners worth of credit, punch in a 16 digit number into any phone, and then talk for, like 3p a minute for 45 minutes to various countries?
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asta1
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PostPosted: 02:15 - 13 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
Voila: https://www.worldsim.com/uk-travel-sim

A fair few international students use these at uni to call mummy and ask for more money. Seems to work, although I don't know what the costs are.

Verizon and Lebara are other options. I think EE and O2 stores provide them as well.
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MCN
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PostPosted: 07:53 - 13 Apr 2018    Post subject: Re: International phone cards? Reply with quote
hellkat wrote:
Whats the cheapest way of calling international these days.
I mean phone calls.

And don't tell me Skype/Facetime/Whatsapp etc, that's not going to happen.

I ought to talk to my mother more often, not necessarily have to look at her (or have her know I'm going for a wee whilst talking to her), and I would like to do it without paying an absolute fortune.

I do have a BT housephone line but its not particularly well set up to make cheap international calls on their "Friends and Family" thing. And my mobile is just ridiculous.

Are there still those cards that they used to have (back in 1997 Laughing ) where you can buy like a tenners worth of credit, punch in a 16 digit number into any phone, and then talk for, like 3p a minute for 45 minutes to various countries?


I know we were told not to tell you Skype facepull wotslap etc...

But you can load cash onto those accounts and make cheaper calls via the Skype Out Viber Out type thing...

Or you could get on an Emirates flight and go see the Auld yin better.. 🤣

Those 'Scratch Card doofers were almost OK but they used very cheap routing via cheap servers at cheap rates so call quality was shite. Too quiet to hear or too crackley to understand the other party.

That SIM card 'looks' more expensive than what I pay using Viber Out. (Viber Out etc. let's you call almost any landline or mobile.) The call quality is good enough providing you have good internet connection at your end.
I use it from an Internet Connection hostile location in Kazakhstan where the 3g signal blows around in the wind. 😂
I can connect and talk but sometimes the call gets dropped. (Bastirts)
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hellkat
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PostPosted: 11:22 - 13 Apr 2018    Post subject: Re: International phone cards? Reply with quote
MCN wrote:

Or you could get on an Emirates flight and go see the Auld yin better.. 🤣

Yes I know, I did that in February, and I suffered for it.

If and when longest-of-long-haul suddenly becomes so quick that I can do it in 6-10-12 hours each way, instead of 24-30 then I would be home once a month. I'm hoping Elon Musk will come up with something ... Rolling Eyes Laughing ... even if he just dabbled in supersonic international flights, long enough to last until she pegs it (she is nearly 79 after all, she can''t last forever)

But at the moment, its not a viable option. After there-and-back in a week (yes, on Emirates) my feet took two weeks to stop resembling sausages. I'm finally able to wear slingbacks again, and I'd like to keep it that way.

The sim card option does look like it might be the best bet.
I don't particularly want to appear to be overly accessible, and Facetime/Viber/Whatsapp makes that a risk for me.
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Powderhead
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PostPosted: 11:38 - 13 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
Where is mum? Australia?

How frequently will you be calling her, and for how long at a time?
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MCN
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PostPosted: 11:45 - 13 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
It may be a personal choice which of the VoIP apps you like.
They are all compromised by one thing or another but they are cheap.

If not as popular and obscure, possibly more popular in SE Asia, India and Pakistan, it limits your online exposure. (Or is anything online obscure?
(My current Nemesis is anything AdSense.)

VoIPists:

https://www.google.kz/search?client=ms-android-samsung&ei=GIjQWtdoxaGyAYfHg_AM&q=VoIP&oq=VoIP&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.12..0l5.3142.6422..7913...0....232.670.0j3j1..........1..mobile-gws-wiz-serp.......0i71j0i7i30.Y8JSaCE77Nk%3D#fpstate=aig
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hellkat
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PostPosted: 19:43 - 13 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
Powderhead wrote:
Where is mum? Australia?
How frequently will you be calling her, and for how long at a time?

Mum in NZ
Daughter in Australia

Both anything between 20 minutes to 2 hours ( Rolling Eyes women Rolling Eyes Laughing )
Maybe once fortnightly, each.
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Itchy
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PostPosted: 20:10 - 13 Apr 2018    Post subject: Re: International phone cards? Reply with quote
hellkat wrote:


Are there still those cards that they used to have (back in 1997 Laughing ) where you can buy like a tenners worth of credit, punch in a 16 digit number into any phone, and then talk for, like 3p a minute for 45 minutes to various countries?


Tesco do a calling card.

Helpfully it remembers your phone number so you don't need to put in a long pin either.
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Powderhead
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PostPosted: 20:54 - 15 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
hellkat wrote:
Mum in NZ
Daughter in Australia

Both anything between 20 minutes to 2 hours ( Rolling Eyes women Rolling Eyes Laughing )
Maybe once fortnightly, each.


Ordinarily I'd say Skype/Whatsapp etc... but since you don't want to go down that route, I'd use a VoIP provider like Localphone.

You sign up, top up your account with credit, download their app to your smartphone, and then you're good to go.

A 30-minute call from the UK to an Australian mobile number, compared:

Direct with Vodafone - £60.00 Shocked
Direct with BT - £24.22
Via Localphone - £0.87 (or £0.33 if you're calling an Aussie landline)

You can also get a bundle from Localphone, which will be even cheaper if you're spending longer than 200 minutes a month calling them. However, that means you'll be committed to a monthly plan (although it's only a fiver!), so it might be best to start with pay-as-you-go and see how you get on Thumbs Up

Also, if you're making VoIP calls, it'll be better to make them from your smartphone over Wi-Fi. They're really unreliable using 3G/4G, and it'll eat through your data allowance in no time.
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RhynoCZ
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PostPosted: 21:40 - 15 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
No internet + cheap? Say no more!

https://uw.physics.wisc.edu/~wonders/telephone1.png
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P.
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PostPosted: 09:50 - 16 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
HK, its all about whatsapp and facebook calling these days. Laughing Gotta jump aboard, its only 1 button. Mr. Green
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MCN
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PostPosted: 10:35 - 16 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
Paddy. wrote:
HK, its all about whatsapp and facebook calling these days. Laughing Gotta jump aboard, its only 1 button. Mr. Green


But it's not the access it's the online presence all that shite entails.

I don't use FB much at all now.

My only on-line-ness is here.

The rest of them can go fuck itself.

Ad-sense is the Real Enemy of the People.

"But we are only selecting the things you have shown an interest in."

And what else?

(And those food/recipe video clips of shite being made but looking down from above drive me fucking mental....)
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Powderhead
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PostPosted: 10:55 - 16 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
Paddy. wrote:
HK, its all about whatsapp and facebook calling these days. Laughing Gotta jump aboard, its only 1 button. Mr. Green


This would be how I'd do it also.

Get your daughter to sort your mum out with a cheap smartphone and just WhatsApp video call them?
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P.
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PostPosted: 11:52 - 16 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
MCN wrote:
Paddy. wrote:
HK, its all about whatsapp and facebook calling these days. Laughing Gotta jump aboard, its only 1 button. Mr. Green


But it's not the access it's the online presence all that shite entails.

I don't use FB much at all now.

My only on-line-ness is here.

The rest of them can go fuck itself.

Ad-sense is the Real Enemy of the People.

"But we are only selecting the things you have shown an interest in."

And what else?

(And those food/recipe video clips of shite being made but looking down from above drive me fucking mental....)


You can just ignore the majority, if FB is bad, just use WhatsApp. no ads, simple 1 button calling, on WiFi or 4G, all is good.
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ride_to_die
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PostPosted: 14:50 - 16 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
Asian corner shops sell loads of different international calling cards. The ones where you scrape off a bit to reveal a pin number. Some of them are £1. My mum uses one of these to ring her mate down under.
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natefz6
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PostPosted: 11:02 - 17 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
Some of my international friends have often used these guys to call home,

https://www.rebtel.com/en/
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MCN
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PostPosted: 15:56 - 17 Apr 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
The cheap calling plans are, as I mentioned, sometimes 'limited' but shit call quality. They use Internet connections as opposed to telephone line.

Mobile phones connect to towers which in turn connect to wires of the telephone networks.

The telephone networks also use internet but they have better routing so charge more. And the quality is as near as damned perfect.
We call ship-to-shore from rig phones. No drama.
Using the call plans they seem to be very low volume can't hear each other. 😁
Or other noise.

But I am sure the cost of a bottle of wine to try it out is not a hardship.
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hellkat
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PostPosted: 11:42 - 07 May 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote
Paddy, I blocked my mother on Facebook years ago and I aren't sending her another friend request. Most of my posts are public, so she can see them if she looks (and I'm certain she does!) ... but if I want to bitch about her( rare, because why bother), I make it to "friends only" Laughing and exclude my sister.

Besides, she has an iPhone (and I don't). I'm not rushing to bother. I just wondered if they still had those calling cards.

I looked at one in Tesco the other day. I might call her for Mothers' Day next week.

I have regular convos with my daughter on Whatsapp or Messenger video, anyway. Cool Thumbs Up
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