[FriendlyGoat]

I'm looking for a contract that offers international minutes as part of the monthly deal, are there any around? I'm struggling to find any, which is surprising as there must be lots of business-people with such deals.

[Esot-eric]

They're usually sold as add-ons rather than bundled into the standard contract as, i expect, only a minority of people need to make regular international calls (and the providers want to gouge on the occasional user).

I just go outside the mobile provider and use a hybrid voip/calling-card service such as Localphone.com. Localphone lets you add contacts which are then assigned a local geographic number so are inclusive to your mobile minutes.

I use it to call relatives in Portugal, Greece and New Zealand all the time. The Caller ID is passed through, so the recipient never knows you aren't calling directly from your mobile. And because Localphone also have a VoIP service too i use it on my home phone too with an incoming local number (i'm grandfathered in so get the number free, else it's £0.90/month).

Because i only get inclusive calls to O2 or Landlines i even have localphone-assigned contact numbers for people on other mobile networks to say me money on the calls.

[FriendlyGoat]

Well I use O2 international caller at the moment, which gives me 300 minutes providing I top up £30 a month. Can't believe there aren't any contracts around though.

[Esot-eric]

O2 has a list of options for both PAYG and Pay Monthly, but i don't see anything about 300 minutes for £30 in the "International Caller" option, just cheaper rates (which still seem extortionate to me).

The Localphone rates will always be cheaper to locations abroad. For £31/month you could get an O2 SIM-only 1-month rolling contract with 1200 minutes and unlimited texts (or £26/month for a 12 month contract). If you went with 3 you could get their "One Plan" Sim-only deal for £25/month with 2000 minutes and 5000 texts.

Couple that with a Localphone account and for a call to i.e. the US you'd pay nothing on your mobile and 0.4p/minute from your Localphone account. I also forgot to mention in my previous post that you can text Localphone numbers and it will be forwarded on to the contact's number at Localphone rates (5.8p to the US).

For me this is the ideal set-up because i'm a mega cheapskate when it comes to communications (if anyone has a better set-up let me know!) and i get a lot of satisfaction every month when i get my O2 email saying i have nothing to pay yet again (about 18 months at 0 to pay so far ).

[FriendlyGoat]

I'll have a look in to some of those options. International caller is a bolt-on, one that they seem to keep quite well hidden!

[Esot-eric]

Are you sure you're not on Your Country? It seems to fit what you described (although with £30 top-up only getting you 200, rather than 300, minutes to international landlines and mobiles). International Caller seems to be just for (slightly) cheaper rates to international destinations.

Depending on your usage a SIM-only contract with the International Favourites bolt-on might be more suited. 3000 minutes/month to 3 favourite International landlines for £10.21 or 3000 landline minutes and 200 mobile minutes to 5 favourite numbers for £20.41/month.

[FriendlyGoat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esot-eric

Are you sure you're not on Your Country? It seems to fit what you described (although with £30 top-up only getting you 200, rather than 300, minutes to international landlines and mobiles). International Caller seems to be just for (slightly) cheaper rates to international destinations.

Depending on your usage a SIM-only contract with the International Favourites bolt-on might be more suited. 3000 minutes/month to 3 favourite International landlines for £10.21 or 3000 landline minutes and 200 mobile minutes to 5 favourite numbers for £20.41/month.

Sorry yes, it is probably the Your Country bolt on. I only call one mobile number so International Favourites wouldn't be any good for me.

[Thine Wonk]

http://ask3.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN...ile:mobileUser

Three's international saver, £15.32 a month for 3,000 international minutes. Certain countries only though.

Or they do cheap international PAYG rates too if you append a 3 digit code

http://www.three.co.uk/Pay_As_You_Go..._calling_rates

[stephen122333]

o2 also do a international calling card, which if on o2 the access number is free of charge to call. It is more expensive then their International Favourites but you are not tied to a monthly charge.

http://www.o2.co.uk/callingcard/

[TheBigM]

Vectone is a pretty good mobile network for making international calls. Also check out Lebara mobile.

[kitchen whisk]

You might also want to check out icardmobile

You can also call 0800 numbers for free from giffgaff, which allows access to services like http://www.18185.co.uk/mobilerates.php

If you are specifically looking for a contract, though, 800 international minutes for £30/month seems amongst the best
http://www.talkmobile.co.uk/paymonthlyworld.html

There are also short access codes that work from T-mobile or Orange PAYG phones (not orange contract phones). You dial a code like 29 03 70 and then when connected the international number you want. That number would let you call China, for example, for 3p a minute.
http://www.briing.com/mobileinstant/rates.php
(there are numerous similar companies)

It all depends how many minutes you need, and to which countries.

[On the Rocks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigM

Vectone is a pretty good mobile network for making international calls. Also check out Lebara mobile.

Lebara do a nice set of international-focused rolling SIM-only contracts, which are good if you need calls to one country specifically. For £15 (special offer at present seems to be £10) you get a certain amount of minutes to your chosen country (200 for me, to the U.S.) and 100 UK minutes: http://www.lebara-mobile.co.uk/paymonthly

Other than that, if you want to call multiple countries, their PAYG rates are really rather competitive with the major UK networks (5p/min landline, 10p/min mobile) and they have a London call centre and use Vodafone as their network. I've switched to them (my partner lives in the U.S., I'm in and out of the country, and I'm off there permanently in a few months) and find them pretty reliable with a good sound quality and decent reception.

Before Lebara, I used Giffgaff with Localphone, but the sound quality just wasn't there for me. Localphone is super cheap and they have a fantastic interface and great customer service, they're good for business calls etc, but when the love of your life sounds like a compressed robotic voice underneath a bunch of hiss and crackle, you start to think about paying a bit more. (Localphone also has a weird delay issue when calling the UK from the U.S., which it doesn't have the other way around. It's odd.)