Cell Phones in Great Britain - Calling international mobiles

Author

Calling international mobiles

Leodiensian

2008-03-20, 12:34 pm

Hi Everyone,

I currently have a Web n Walk Flext tariff with T-Mobile.

My girlfriend lives in Germany and I call and text her mobile every
day.

My monthly bill is regularly =A3250+

My contract ended last month, so as well as looking at upgrade
options, I really need to find a way of reducing this cost.

I guess the options are:

1) Find a tariff which allows "Friends and Family" type numbers, but
which allows international mobiles (fat chance).
2) Find a tariff which is just generally lower for international
calls.
3) Use a third party to route the call (where I have to dial some kind
of prefix before her mobile number).

Any advice greatly welcome.

Chris

Whiskers

2008-03-20, 12:34 pm

On 2008-03-20, Leodiensian <chrispoad@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I currently have a Web n Walk Flext tariff with T-Mobile.
>
> My girlfriend lives in Germany and I call and text her mobile every
> day.
>
> My monthly bill is regularly Â£250+
>
> My contract ended last month, so as well as looking at upgrade
> options, I really need to find a way of reducing this cost.
>
> I guess the options are:
>
> 1) Find a tariff which allows "Friends and Family" type numbers, but
> which allows international mobiles (fat chance).
> 2) Find a tariff which is just generally lower for international
> calls.
> 3) Use a third party to route the call (where I have to dial some kind
> of prefix before her mobile number).
>
> Any advice greatly welcome.
>
> Chris

You might like to check out the "International" section at
<http://www.talkmobile.co.uk/home.php> (part pf Carphone Warehouse).

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

simonclark123@hotmail.com

2008-03-20, 3:33 pm

On 20 Mar, 17:04, Whiskers <catwhee...@operamail.com> wrote:
> On 2008-03-20, Leodiensian <chrisp...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> You might like to check out the "International" section at
> <http://www.talkmobile.co.uk/home.php> (part pf Carphone Warehouse).
>
> --
> -- ^^^^^^^^^^
> -- =A0Whiskers
> -- ~~~~~~~~~~- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

T-Mobile Business-1 sharer tariffs have inclusive minutes which
include calls to USA, Canada, most of Europe (landline & mobile)
within inclusive mins eg =A350 per month will get you 2 phones & 500
mins (or 1000 mins if you go direct to T-Mobile and sign for 24
instead of 12 months).

So, assuming your girlfriend has a German landline and/or German
mobile, calls to her will come out of inclusive mins.

(As it's a sharer tariff, you'll need to get a minimum of two phones -
calls between the two phones in the UK are free).

Hope that helps

Regards

Simon
Business Telecoms

James Lewis

2008-03-20, 3:33 pm

On 20 Mar, 18:34, simonclark...@hotmail.com wrote:
> On 20 Mar, 17:04, Whiskers <catwhee...@operamail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
[color=darkred]
>
>
>
>
>
>
> T-Mobile Business-1 sharer tariffs have inclusive minutes which
> include calls to USA, Canada, most of Europe (landline & mobile)
> within inclusive mins eg =A350 per month will get you 2 phones & 500
> mins (or 1000 mins if you go direct to T-Mobile and sign for 24
> instead of 12 months).
>
> So, assuming your girlfriend has a German landline and/or German
> mobile, calls to her will come out of inclusive mins.
>
> (As it's a sharer tariff, you'll need to get a minimum of two phones -
> calls between the two phones in the UK are free).
>
> Hope that helps
>
> Regards
>
> Simon
> Business Telecoms- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

For =A32 a month extra on an Orange contract for their "Call Abroad
Subscription" you have calls to Germany for 20p/min...ok, its not the
cheapest but compared to standard mobile costs its a lot less

Jono

2008-03-20, 3:33 pm

James Lewis explained :
> On 20 Mar, 18:34, simonclark...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> For £2 a month extra on an Orange contract for their "Call Abroad
> Subscription" you have calls to Germany for 20p/min...ok, its not the
> cheapest but compared to standard mobile costs its a lot less

I think I'd rather have O2's My Europe Extra - £5 per month (inc VAT)
and gives 1000 minutes per month of inbound roaming calls @ FOC.

The OP should get two SIMs - send one to the GF - £26 per month for 300
UK minutes - plus the GF's My Europe Extra.

<http://www.o2international.co.uk/ca...a.aspx#business>

Andy Pandy

2008-03-20, 10:33 pm

"Leodiensian" <chrispoad@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2f70cadb-ff5f-4218-a022- b18b61a09b87@i12g200
0prf.googlegroups.com...
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I currently have a Web n Walk Flext tariff with T-Mobile.
>
> My girlfriend lives in Germany and I call and text her mobile every
> day.
>
> My monthly bill is regularly £250+
>
> My contract ended last month, so as well as looking at upgrade
> options, I really need to find a way of reducing this cost.
>
> I guess the options are:
>
> 1) Find a tariff which allows "Friends and Family" type numbers, but
> which allows international mobiles (fat chance).
> 2) Find a tariff which is just generally lower for international
> calls.
> 3) Use a third party to route the call (where I have to dial some
kind
> of prefix before her mobile number).
>
> Any advice greatly welcome.

Do you *have* to call mobile to mobile?

Using a callthough service like http://www.telediscount.co.uk/ it'll
cost 1p/min to call a German landline and 10p/min to call a German
mobile from a BT landline. But it'll be much more from your mobile.

Or if you've both got broadband a VOIP service would be cheaper or
even free.

--
Andy

Rob Cooper

2008-03-21, 7:34 am

"Andy Pandy" < spam8times@wonderful
.spam.invalid> wrote in message
news:64g6suF2bl4d0U1
@mid.individual.net...
>
> "Leodiensian" <chrispoad@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:2f70cadb-ff5f-4218-a022- b18b61a09b87@i12g200
0prf.googlegroups.com...
> kind
>
> Do you *have* to call mobile to mobile?
>
> Using a callthough service like http://www.telediscount.co.uk/ it'll
> cost 1p/min to call a German landline and 10p/min to call a German
> mobile from a BT landline. But it'll be much more from your mobile.
>
> Or if you've both got broadband a VOIP service would be cheaper or
> even free.
>
> --
> Andy
>
>

I use this o2 tarrif to call abroad

http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/...ygo/yourcountry

Rob

Brian A

2008-03-21, 7:34 am

On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:45:05 -0000, "Rob Cooper" <rcmacc@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>"Andy Pandy" < spam8times@wonderful
.spam.invalid> wrote in message
> news:64g6suF2bl4d0U1
@mid.individual.net...
>
>
>I use this o2 tarrif to call abroad
>
>http://www.o2.co.uk/mobilestariffs/...ygo/yourcountry
>
>Rob
Other possibilities depend on your current contract, how many
inclusive minutes you have, do you have any data etc. etc.
You could look at Rebtel and see if that would work out any cheaper.
You could also look at doing callback using voxalot and voip
provider(s) of your choice.
There are also various systems for calling via SIP voip and even the
dreaded Skype. For example '3' do free Skype calls even on PAYG. If
your g/f had Skype on her mobile too then you'd just pay for data.
There are various applications you can use for SIP voip, Fring for
example, that is worth checking out. Also, if you have access to WiFi
you can use that in various ways to reduce call costs.
Short of writing a blog on this I would advise that if you want to
investigate any voip options that you can also post on
uk.telecom.voip
---
Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
---

James Lewis

2008-03-21, 12:33 pm

On 21 Mar, 10:20, Brian A <no_spam_bca1...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:45:05 -0000, "Rob Cooper" <rcm...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
..[color=darkred]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Other possibilities depend on your current contract, how many
> inclusive minutes you have, do you have any data etc. etc.
> You could look at Rebtel and see if that would work out any cheaper.
> You could also look at doing callback using voxalot and voip
> provider(s) of your choice.
> There are also various systems for calling via SIP voip and even the
> dreaded Skype. For example '3' do free Skype calls even on PAYG. If
> your g/f had Skype on her mobile too then you'd just pay for data.
> There are various applications you can use for SIP voip, Fring for
> example, that is worth checking out. =A0Also, if you have access to WiFi
> you can use that in various ways to reduce call costs.
> Short of writing a blog on this I would advise that if you want to
> investigate =A0any voip options that you can also post on
> uk.telecom.voip
> ---
> Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
> ---- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

For =A315 a month extra on a 3 contract or Pay as you go you get
unlimited calls to certain countries, see:
http://www.three.co.uk/personal/pro...tl
saver=
..omp

Andy Pandy

2008-03-21, 12:33 pm

"James Lewis" <steffangl@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:dbabf4d5-4618-454e-b2ca- 3e0ebf3b1e39@i29g200
0prf.googlegroups.com...
>
> For £15 a month extra on a 3 contract or Pay as you go you get
> unlimited calls to certain countries, see:
>
http://www.three.co.uk/personal/pro...br /> saver.omp

Er, yes, to LANDLINES ONLY in most countries (except to those sensible
countries like the US who charge mobile users for receiving instead of
charging callers a premium).

If the OP was happy to call his g/f on a landline, he could do it for
virtually bugger all, in many different ways.

--
Andy

Ivor Jones

2008-03-21, 3:33 pm

"Leodiensian" <chrispoad@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2f70cadb-ff5f-4218-a022- b18b61a09b87@i12g200
0prf.googlegroups.com
: Hi Everyone,
:
: I currently have a Web n Walk Flext tariff with T-Mobile.
:
: My girlfriend lives in Germany and I call and text her
: mobile every day.
:
: My monthly bill is regularly £250+
:
: My contract ended last month, so as well as looking at
: upgrade options, I really need to find a way of reducing
: this cost.
:
: I guess the options are:
:
: 1) Find a tariff which allows "Friends and Family" type
: numbers, but which allows international mobiles (fat
: chance). 2) Find a tariff which is just generally lower
: for international calls.
: 3) Use a third party to route the call (where I have to
: dial some kind of prefix before her mobile number).
:
: Any advice greatly welcome.
:
: Chris

Does it absolutely *have* to be a mobile..? Does she have broadband where
she lives..? If so you might consider a VoIP connection, if you both use
the same provider you can talk as long as you want for free.

Ivor

Ivor Jones

2008-03-21, 3:33 pm

"Andy Pandy" < spam8times@wonderful
.spam.invalid> wrote in
message news:64i7rsF2ch00gU1
@mid.individual.net
: "James Lewis" <steffangl@gmail.com> wrote in message
:
news:dbabf4d5-4618-454e-b2ca- 3e0ebf3b1e39@i29g200
0prf.googlegroups.com...
: >
: > For £15 a month extra on a 3 contract or Pay as you go
: > you get unlimited calls to certain countries, see:
: >
:
http://www.three.co.uk/personal/pro...br /> saver.omp
:
: Er, yes, to LANDLINES ONLY in most countries (except to
: those sensible countries like the US who charge mobile
: users for receiving instead of charging callers a
: premium).
:
: If the OP was happy to call his g/f on a landline, he
: could do it for virtually bugger all, in many different
: ways.

Exactly. Which is why several people have asked if it absolutely *has* to
be mobile to mobile, and if so why..?

I accept that mobile calls are more expensive and so only use them when
there is absolutely no option. For everything non-urgent I use landlines
and VoIP.

Ivor

Andy Pandy

2008-03-21, 10:33 pm

"Ivor Jones" <ivor@thisaddressis.invalid> wrote in message
news:64iha6F2c932oU1
@mid.individual.net...
>
>
> "Andy Pandy" < spam8times@wonderful
.spam.invalid> wrote in
> message news:64i7rsF2ch00gU1
@mid.individual.net
> : "James Lewis" <steffangl@gmail.com> wrote in message
> :
>
news:dbabf4d5-4618-454e-b2ca- 3e0ebf3b1e39@i29g200
0prf.googlegroups.com...
> : >
> : > For £15 a month extra on a 3 contract or Pay as you go
> : > you get unlimited calls to certain countries, see:
> : >
> :
>
http://www.three.co.uk/personal/pro...br /> saver.omp
> :
> : Er, yes, to LANDLINES ONLY in most countries (except to
> : those sensible countries like the US who charge mobile
> : users for receiving instead of charging callers a
> : premium).
> :
> : If the OP was happy to call his g/f on a landline, he
> : could do it for virtually bugger all, in many different
> : ways.
>
> Exactly. Which is why several people have asked if it absolutely
*has* to
> be mobile to mobile, and if so why..?
>
> I accept that mobile calls are more expensive and so only use them
when
> there is absolutely no option. For everything non-urgent I use
landlines
> and VoIP.

So does anyone with half a brain, but it seems a lot of people simply
use their mobile for everything without even thinking of much cheaper
alternatives. I blame all these crappy "inclusive minutes" contracts
where people are encouraged to sign up for far more minutes than they
really need while actually mobile, and so end up using them up at
home/office when they could use the landline for trivial cost. Then
they get used to reaching for the mobile for everything, even for
calls which their "inclusive minutes" don't include and they'll get
charged a fortune for.

--
Andy

White Knight

2008-03-22, 7:33 am

* Leodiensian wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I currently have a Web n Walk Flext tariff with T-Mobile.
>
> My girlfriend lives in Germany and I call and text her mobile every
> day.
>
> My monthly bill is regularly £250+
>
> My contract ended last month, so as well as looking at upgrade
> options, I really need to find a way of reducing this cost.
>
> I guess the options are:
>
> 1) Find a tariff which allows "Friends and Family" type numbers, but
> which allows international mobiles (fat chance).
> 2) Find a tariff which is just generally lower for international
> calls.
> 3) Use a third party to route the call (where I have to dial some kind
> of prefix before her mobile number).
>
> Any advice greatly welcome.
>
> Chris
>

If you can get an N95 or a phone that supports VoIP, the Max Web n Walk
tarrif allows you to make VoIP calls. This would save you quite a lot
of money. Failing that if you have a Wi-Fi point you can use close by
you don't even need the Web N Walk.

HTH

andy

2008-03-22, 10:33 pm

On 20 Mar, 20:18, Jono <notha...@blueyonder.invalid> wrote:
> James Lewis explained :
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
d[color=darkred]
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
> I think I'd rather have O2's My Europe Extra - =A35 per month (inc VAT)
> and gives 1000 minutes per month of inbound roaming calls @ FOC.
>
> The OP should get two SIMs - send one to the GF - =A326 per month for 300
> UK minutes - plus the GF's My Europe Extra.
>
> <http://www.o2international.co.uk/ca...rope_extra.a...>=
- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

This was the best suggestion so far, but not quite there ...

My Europe Extra is =A310 a month on Pay & Go and on non-business
contracts

And the cheapest way to call to that phone is another O2 SIM with the
=A35 a month Your O2 Numbers - up to 1000 minutes to 10 favourite
numbers

http://youro2numbers.o2.co.uk/010

Jono

2008-03-23, 7:33 am

andy wrote on 22/03/2008 :
> On 20 Mar, 20:18, Jono <notha...@blueyonder.invalid> wrote:
>
> This was the best suggestion so far, but not quite there ...

Oh but it is....I suggested two SIMs on a single business contract at
£26 per month with 300 UK minutes. This also gives free calls "in
group"....and to any other O2 number, for that matter.

>
> My Europe Extra is £10 a month on Pay & Go and on non-business
> contracts

But £5 on business is better :-)

>
> And the cheapest way to call to that phone is another O2 SIM with the
> £5 a month Your O2 Numbers - up to 1000 minutes to 10 favourite
> numbers
>
> http://youro2numbers.o2.co.uk/010

Well, I still prefer a business contract with one lot of My Europe
Extra for the GF.

The OP can call her out of the "in group" allowance. She can receive
calls from him at FOC - subject to the 1000 minute rules.....

andy

2008-03-23, 10:33 pm

On 23 Mar, 10:06, Jono <notha...@blueyonder.invalid> wrote:
> andy wrote on 22/03/2008 :
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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t[color=darkred]
ind[color=darkred]
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> Oh but it is....I suggested two SIMs on a single business contract at
> =A326 per month with 300 UK minutes. This also gives free calls "in
> group"....and to any other O2 number, for that matter.
>
>
>
>
> But =A35 on business is better :-)
>
>
>
>
>
> Well, I still prefer a business contract with one lot of My Europe
> Extra for the GF.
>
> The OP can call her out of the "in group" allowance. She can receive
> calls from him at FOC - subject to the 1000 minute rules.....- Hide quoted=
text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

We diverge:

The OP doesn't mention whether the girlfriend is permanently in
Germany, so an 18 or 24 month business contract may be longer than is
required

Your method costs =A326 or =A331 (I'm not checking), while mine costs =A315
a month, for a similar 1000 minutes fair use policy

Jono

2008-03-23, 10:33 pm

andy wrote on 23/03/2008 :
> We diverge:
>
> The OP doesn't mention whether the girlfriend is permanently in
> Germany, so an 18 or 24 month business contract may be longer than is
> required

the OP hasn't mentioned anything since posing the original question!

> Your method costs £26 or £31 (I'm not checking), while mine costs £15
> a month, for a similar 1000 minutes fair use policy

Point taken. £26 +VAT + £5 inc VAT.

bobcat@adacity.net

2008-03-26, 7:33 am

Hey Chris,

I guess a good option for you would be Manifone.

You can stick with your current T-Mobile tariff, just make sure that
calls to UK landlines are cheap enough.

Just open an account at www.manifone.com/uk

They'll give you a London phone number that you can point to your
girlfriend's number in Germany.
Calls will cost 11p a minute to any german mobile + the cost of
calling a UK landline from your phone.

Works in a PAYG fashion, and is fairly simple to use once set up.
You'll actually get 8 UK numbers so you can set up more such "low cost
routes" to people you need to call abroad.

Hope this helps,

- Thomas

Ian

2008-03-26, 7:33 am

On 20 Mar, 16:36, Leodiensian <chrisp...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I guess the options are:
>
> 1) Find a tariff which allows "Friends and Family" type numbers, but
> which allows international mobiles (fat chance).
> 2) Find a tariff which is just generally lower for international
> calls.
> 3) Use a third party to route the call (where I have to dial some kind
> of prefix before her mobile number).

4) Get her to call you from a landline, to a landline. My german
relatives rarely have to pay as much as 1 cent / minute to call the
UK.

5) Get a 3 which does Skype (x-series or Skypephone) and use that.

Ian

Brian A

2008-03-26, 10:33 am

On Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:28:45 -0700 (PDT), Ian
<ian.groups@btinternet.com> wrote:

>On 20 Mar, 16:36, Leodiensian <chrisp...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>4) Get her to call you from a landline, to a landline. My german
>relatives rarely have to pay as much as 1 cent / minute to call the
>UK.
>
>5) Get a 3 which does Skype (x-series or Skypephone) and use that.
>
>Ian
Here's another idea for you.
Open an account with Voxalot.com. Point a UK 'landline' DID to it (you
can get one for free). Open an account with justvoip.com, that'll be a
credit of £10. They do calls to German mobiles for 7.5p/min inc VAT.
Call the UK 'landline' voip number and once set up on Voxalot it will
call the Greman mobile. So standard UK minutes from a mobile will do
the connection.
More info. via
uk.telecom.voip

---
Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
---

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