International phones And Calling Abroad – How To Save And Get More Air Time With Your Loved Ones

Posted by Alex on May 18, 2011 in Useful Info | 1 comment

Calling abroad from international phones can be pricy and nerve -racking. The quality on international phone calls can also be choppy and that makes for a longer conversation, especially when you constantly have to say “pardon me?”. One of the perks of technology is that the prices for calling international phones are starting to go down, but with the economy the way it is, we could always use even more breaks on the prices that we are paying to call our friends, loved ones and important business people overseas.

Save money on International Cell Phone Costs

Depending on what country you are calling from, and what country you are dialing to, there will be a different cost associated. Normally the fees are per minute, however there are also sometimes connection fees, roaming fees, and other unforseen, hidden fees that could add up if you are not careful and doing a lot of volume with your international calling.

Of course the further away the country you are calling, the more money generally per minute it’s going to cost you. That’s definitely not always the case, but it often is. Another factor that will come in to play is how good that country’s communication infrastructure is, if the person is living in a remote part of the country, etc. All of these will factor in to the actual price per minute, as well as if there will be a connecting fee from the country that you are in.

There is also going to be a difference whether you are calling from an international cell phone or an international land-line phone, and that also goes for if you are receiving an international call.

Calling someone internationally on a cell phone is going to be very expensive, especially if it’s an overseas call. Even from one country to the next (Canada to the USA, for example.), there are insane roaming fees associated with certain major  cell phone providers. If you are on one of these plans (hint: you probably are), then you can get dinged big time. There are horror stories of people going away on one way trips, using their phone regularly and racking up over $800 worth of data in a single weekend. That’s the danger of roaming charges! It’s true that different countries have different roaming fees, and Canada has among the highest. Find out from your cell phone provider how much your roaming fees are going to be, and if they offer some sort of travel package. That way when you are on your trip or vacation, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing you are not going to be charged an arm and a leg just for using your darn cell phone.

If you have family or friends living abroad, you’ll likely want to call them often. If you can call from land line to land line, you are going to save a ton of money doing so. Most land line phone companies offer really great long distance rates, such as 2 cents a minute. You can compare that to 25 cents a minute on your cell phone, plus all the unforseen charges. If you can, always use your land line, and call the home phone of the person you are trying to reach. Many people only have a cell phone these days, if that’s the case, then try to at least have one land line phone in the mix, it will still save you money.