Whist it’s great living abroad as an expat there are times when it’s nice to make contact with the family back home. The trouble is family and friends back in the UK are often reluctant to call overseas due to huge international phone bills. But don’t let them use that as an excuse not to call on your birthday, anniversaries or to tell you that the budgie has just died. There are ways to lower international calls from the UK. Over the Christmas period in 2007 around £3.5 million was spent making international calls so if your relatives are a little on the tight side you can give them the following information. There’s no excuse!
If your folks have internet they can make free international calls using “Voice over Internet Protocol” or VOIP calls. Skype customers are able to make free customer to customer calls over the internet. All you need to do is register and download their free software then you can whittle over the computer for hours…free. You can also set up a webcam to use with Skype so you can put the kids in front of the camera as well if they want to talk to Granny. Skype also allows you to buy credit for calling landlines and mobiles. Vonage is another popular system but unlike Skype you are billed monthly. Unlimited call packages to loved ones start from £6.99 per month.
There are also a number of predial providers. These are generally websites that allow you to select the country you wish to call and they then provide you with a special number to enter before you enter the international number you’re calling. Abroadcall, Telediscount and Phonecheap are sites offering this service. As an example a 15 minute call to Australia with Phonecheap would cost 15p. Who can quibble over that!!
They can also ask their phone company if they provide any form of international call package. BT offers an International Freedom package that covers locations including Australia, France, Spain and the US and costs £4.89.
Talk Talk also offers calls at no extra cost to 36 international call destinations if you sign up to their plans for 12 months.
