Making international calls cheaply

By David Strom

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All of the Internet voice providers offer tremendous discounts on international calls, that is, calls outside of North America. Those calls can cost just pennies per minute, which is a significant discount when compared to the traditional phone company rates that are easily 10 times that per minute. If you make a lot of international calls, this alone may be a compelling reason to choice the Internet voice option by itself.

It pays to read the fine print on the various provider Web sites, because the rates do vary, although they are inevitably cheaper. And some of the providers have put together special deals for frequent international callers. Some also have special charges, such as Skype, which bills 4 cents per every international call.

If you are simply calling one or two family members or friends in a far-away place, the best solution is for you both to get Internet voice service from the same provider. Almost all of the providers offer free and unlimited calling to their own subscribers, no matter where they are located. An alternative to that is to buy service with a U.S. phone number.

Broadvoice offers two different unlimited calling plans, including one for a monthly $20 fee, which includes calls to 21 countries. Others, such as Vonage and Packet8, offer unlimited international calling to certain countries – but only if you subscribe to their highest monthly service plan. Packet8 offers a large list of countries and cities that are included (see here).

Vonage's most pricey plan, at $50 per month, is the most complex and will require the most careful study before you sign up. It offers unlimited calling to Italy, France, Spain, U.K., and Ireland only. Other countries are a penny per minute, but only if you choose that $50 plan; with the cheaper monthly plans, the cost of your calls can actually be more than the traditional phone companies. For example, with the unlimited $50 per month plan, calls to the UK are free, but with one of the cheaper monthly plans, calls to some numbers are as high as 50 cents per minute.

Also, many of the providers charge more for calls placed to mobile numbers than to landlines. For example, Packet8 charges 3 cents a minute to calls to U.K. landlines, and 19 cents a minute for most mobile numbers.