Cheapest Way to Call an International Cell Phone!
 

So I've sorted through the boards, and I have an available GSM phone that I plan to buy an international SIM card for (through either Telestial or United Mobile) since I will be traveling through several different countries in Europe for about 2 months. HOWEVER, I cannot figure out the cheapest way for my parents, family, and friends to get ahold of this international cell phone number without incurring 25 cent per minute charges! Even skype is disappointing me. Please help!!!

25 cents a minute is a good deal compared with other phone services - just tell them to talk fast!!

I'm surprised skype won't work for you. I bought $10 of skype credit last year and still have over $6 left. Most calls are something like 2 cents a minute when calling from a computer to a land line or cell phone somewhere.
If your family has a computer, recomemend they get a headset for it and call your cell phone that way.

Rebtel.com . . . you sign up and tell Rebtel their phone number. When you go to Europe, no matter what phone system you finally decide upon, you go on line to Rebtel, give them your (new) number.

Your family calls you on the number Rebtel set up for them. They will be calling a local number and it will be free. You will only be charged the international part of that call, which will be about 2¢/min, depending on the country. Since they called on your account, you will be billed.

I received lots of calls in Berlin and the total was less than $4.

Now . . . if you try to call them back in the USA, the calls will be more more expensive. You would still pay Rebtel for the international part (cheap) but you would also be burning local minutes on your cell phone or calling card. In Berlin, the local cell phone minutes were about 39¢/min.

Good luck,
Sandy (in Denton)

Thanks all for the reply- I will check out Rebtel. I used Skype when abroad last year, which is great if I have internet (free computer to computer), but if my parents try and call me (USA to abroad cell phone), those rates are still 25 cents. Boo.

mn-I had no idea that Skype charges more to call international call phones. That's good to know because I bought one last year with a Global SIM.

I just read on another thread that the poster bought an international calling card for $30 at Costco for their relatives at home to use to call them. Depending on which country your phone is registered in (if it's Telestial it will be a UK number) this might work for you.

Another option would be (for your parents at least) to talk to their long distance home phone carrier about an international plan that offers 5 cent a min calls or something like that. They could cancel the plan after you return (they usually have a small monthly fee attached).

I think it really depends on how many minutes you think you will spend talking to them. In the end, 25 cents may be the best rate over pre-paid or special calling plans if you're not going to spend that much time on the phone.

Calls to mobiles in any country that has free incomig (Europe, Africa, etc) calls will be a whole lot more expensive (to the magnitude of 15 - 20 times more) than calls to landlines. The incoming calls are free, however someone pays for it, the caller. It's called CPP. So, it's very unlikely you will be able to call any mobile in these countries for less than $0.20/min.

I am 100% sure that rate quoted for rebtel is to landlines. The rate to mobiles will likely be at least 10 times more.