Advice On Calling Overseas?

[Rob_35]

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone can help with this? I have just arrived in Singapore and have bought a local PAYG sim card (Singtel) from a 7-11 here to use for local contacts.

Are there any special numbers I could call that would get a cheap per minute rate to call a friend in Thailand (who uses a Thai mobile) or would I be better off buying a seperate sim card from somewhere else here that would give a better rate than a normal Singtel PAYG sim? I remember a seller at Changi who was selling sim cards that offer really cheap rates on overseas calls.

Many thanks for any help....

[Strong Eagle]

Your best bet would be to get a Skype out account that lets you dial phone numbers. Cheaper than any card I have ever used.

[zzm9980]

Your best bet would be to get a Skype out account that lets you dial phone numbers. Cheaper than any card I have ever used.

For many countries, but not all. Skype to China is a penny or two a minute. To Vietnam, it's 39c a minute unless you buy very large blocks of time that expire in 30 days. And then, the bulk rate is about the same as Google Voice's normal rate.

So definitely shop it around and check the countries before committing.

[Michael X]

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone can help with this? I have just arrived in Singapore and have bought a local PAYG sim card (Singtel) from a 7-11 here to use for local contacts.

Are there any special numbers I could call that would get a cheap per minute rate to call a friend in Thailand (who uses a Thai mobile) or would I be better off buying a seperate sim card from somewhere else here that would give a better rate than a normal Singtel PAYG sim? I remember a seller at Changi who was selling sim cards that offer really cheap rates on overseas calls.

Many thanks for any help....

If you and your friend in Thailand both have smart phones there are a bunch of good apps that offer affordable international calling. You'll have to do some research, but I've used an app called Viber. It works well, though I still prefer skype.

[Strong Eagle]

Your best bet would be to get a Skype out account that lets you dial phone numbers. Cheaper than any card I have ever used.

For many countries, but not all. Skype to China is a penny or two a minute. To Vietnam, it's 39c a minute unless you buy very large blocks of time that expire in 30 days. And then, the bulk rate is about the same as Google Voice's normal rate.

So definitely shop it around and check the countries before committing.

This is true... and... if you do a bit of research you quickly discover that that the high price countries are high price on any service. It has nothing to do with Skype and everything to do with governments ripping off their own people. Philippines costs 29 cents per minute Skype... and you cannot do much better with other services or calling cards.

[zzm9980]

Your best bet would be to get a Skype out account that lets you dial phone numbers. Cheaper than any card I have ever used.

For many countries, but not all. Skype to China is a penny or two a minute. To Vietnam, it's 39c a minute unless you buy very large blocks of time that expire in 30 days. And then, the bulk rate is about the same as Google Voice's normal rate.

So definitely shop it around and check the countries before committing.

This is true... and... if you do a bit of research you quickly discover that that the high price countries are high price on any service. It has nothing to do with Skype and everything to do with governments ripping off their own people. Philippines costs 29 cents per minute Skype... and you cannot do much better with other services or calling cards.

But Skype still tends to come in higher on those countries. I've seen a few people here just say "Just go with Skype, don't waste your time, it's the best!" but that's definitely not the case in more than a few countries.

Again, the example I used, Vietnam:

Google Voice rates at $0.08 USD per minute, whether to landline or mobile. That's pay as yo go. Skype to Vietnam is $0.33 USD per minute, pay as you go.

You can get $0.10 USD per minute if you buy it in $39/month chunks (and the time doesn't roll over), or $0.056 USD per minute in $45/month chunks.

[Max Headroom]

OP, ask for a BIP phone card from those little booths you see at MRT stations. BIP has great audio, no lag and is cheap.

I used to use the Singtel phone cards, but they're not cheap at all. Mind you, that was a few years ago, so perhaps they caught up now.

I'm not happy with Skype, find it laggy and inconsistent. Plus it slowed down my pc. I prefer paying a bit for a decent line than getting a so-so line FOC.

BTW, you get an ok deal using a Singtel line with the 019 prefix, though BIP is still better price/quality-wise.

[sanjivvohra]

Has anyone had experience with using the 'callback'cards with respect to quality? I know the inconvenience of waiting for a call back sucks but the rates are amazingly low e.g 500 min to India ( a high rate country) for S$10.

[sanjivvohra]

Has anyone had experience with using the 'callback'cards with respect to quality? I know the inconvenience of waiting for a call back sucks but the rates are amazingly low e.g 500 min to India ( a high rate country) for S$10.

[DrPaulMasters]

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone can help with this? I have just arrived in Singapore and have bought a local PAYG sim card (Singtel) from a 7-11 here to use for local contacts.

Are there any special numbers I could call that would get a cheap per minute rate to call a friend in Thailand (who uses a Thai mobile) or would I be better off buying a seperate sim card from somewhere else here that would give a better rate than a normal Singtel PAYG sim? I remember a seller at Changi who was selling sim cards that offer really cheap rates on overseas calls.

Many thanks for any help....

Hi Rob,

if you buy a 'Hi128' (singtel) or a '130' (M1) card, these cards give you $28/$30 of international minutes, as well as a free gift of $100 local minutes. I use them to call home to my friends and family across the world, no lag, good sound quality.

Skype works fine for me, as long as I don't use video cos I have a laptop with a built in videocard, rather than a separate board. If skype audio is slowing down your computer, you might want to think about downloading a registry cleaner - it rinses away all those PUP fragments, and teh interwebz start working properly again

[nutnut]

Starhub do a 018 international dial service, $5 a month and your international calls are included in your contract minutes. Not sure if this works for PAYG.

[jocox]

You can search for a pair of free VOIP services that provide access to the free trial period, which is enough to talk. I was looking for more free shares from the companies telephone cards, for example here I talked free week, then have a Skype account there is also a free trial period. You need to look and you will find.