Skype

[DimPrawn]

I'm using Skype with SkypeOut (can call any phone in the world) coupled with one of these:

£29.99 from FireBox
http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=1025

and I must say it is superb. Can call mobiles or landlines all round the world for a few pence a minute and the quality means no one knows I'm using VOIP.

Which was nice.

 

[IR35 Avoider]

I think that for international calls we can get (probably) equally cheap calls using one of the services from an ordinary phone, and we spend close to nothing on other calls, so my mission now is to find a way to reduce the cost of line rental. Offers from other providers are starting to appear, but they're not much better value and they usually mean you can't choose who to use for your international calls any more, so they would actually work out more expensive for us. Maybe Skype is the answer; does it give you cheap international calls on a non-BT line?

 

[IR35 Avoider]

Hang on a moment - it looks like you have to plug that phone into a PC - aren't there Skype phones that plug straight into a router?

 

[DimPrawn]

Yes the phone is powered and plugs into a USB port on a PC and uses your broadband connection be it cable, wireless or ADSL on a BT line. Does not matter as long as you have Internet access.

I would be surprised if you can call an American, Australian or European mobile/landline from your landline for 1.2p a minute. Can you get cheaper calls than that?

Skype to Skype phone calls are completely free.

Don't know about cheap routers with built in VOIP. I expect they exist.

 

[Not So Wise]

I would be surprised if you can call an American, Australian or European mobile/landline from your landline for 1.2p a minute. Can you get cheaper calls than that?

Hmm 1899.com think is 1p per minute to USA
Or toucan international is £9.99 per month which gives unlimited calls to about 30 major countrys (aka pay nothing no matter how long or how much you use it)

These days there is actually quite a few options for international calls, due to them all managed in last 5 years to reduce my phone bills from about £500 per month to about £15 per month

Though hate to say it, BT still has best line quality

 

[Lucifer Box]

Found some outfit for my father in law last month with calls to Belgium 1p flat charge, talk as long as you like. As long as it's not some wacky destination, shop around - if you're paying anything more than about 2p/min you can almost certainly find cheaper.

 

[WageSlave]

I use Telediscount. They've been pretty good (about 1p p/m for calls to Russia).

 

[bfg]

Voip

Voip

I use http://www.voipcheap.co.uk/en/index.html from the PC, calls to landlines in quite a few countries including the UK are free.

For incoming calls I use http://www.sipgate.co.uk with an adapter plugged into the router.

 

[Chico]

I use BT Together

 

[DimPrawn]

SkypeOut rates do vary a lot.

Here's the complete price list:

http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/all_rates.html?currency=GBP

Best to avoid East Timor, Guinea-Bissau and Nauru.

All these cost 1.2p per minute:

Argentina (Buenos Aires), Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Canada (mobiles), Chile, China (Beijing, Guanzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen), China (mobiles), Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hong Kong (mobiles), Ireland, Italy, Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland (Poland, Gdansk, Warsaw), Portugal, Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan (Taipei), United Kingdom, United States (except Alaska and Hawaii), United States (mobiles) and last but not least: Vatican.