discobay

Can I get advice on which method provides the cheapest method of phoning to the UK and HK using an Australian land line and occasionally a mobile phone. I am keen to find out before I land so that I can get registered a.s.a.p. and start ringing my family and friends. All advice welcome.

stu:0

hi can' help on the hk front but we've just hooked up with telstra....14c per min to uk.....n we've got a deal on it if you're on the phone for half an hr you get another half hr free....not had our bill yet so can't say much but it seemed ok t us...also have a look on here on the phone cards you use which has cheap deals to uk...sorry don't know the name of of them tho.

good luck

discobay

Thanks. Other than Telstra who else provides land lines?

brido

Buy a $20 Ozcall card and use your landline,simply dial the number for where you are staying thats on the card then it will prompt you to add the 12 digit code then dial the number complete with country code.
Its easy and cheap!

If someone wants to call you from the UK tell them to check out telesavers.co.uk and dial the numbers stated for Australian landline or mobile.Its 1p /min to Oz landline and 10p/min to Oz mobiles. My parents have used it to call me and were happy with the phonebill when it arrived!

St.Georges Girl

Yep, I agree. Buy a Shout card, Go Talk or any of those. I've used a Shout card for about 3/4 years now and when I recharge it for $40, I get an extra $10 free, so read the card for the best deals. They are all much the same, but some do charge a connection fee other than the local call you have to make first. If you're going to have broadband, then you usually get a better deal for your local calls if you lump them together with say Optus, AAPT, Primus etc.

discobay

Not being in Oz right now would someone care to tell me what rates these cards offer?

St.Georges Girl

Go Talk, Shout cards etc. are about 2cents a minute to UK. http://www.onlinecallingcards.com.au...e_Card_28.aspx

discobay

Wow those rates are not particularly cheap. Can't imagine what land line providers are charging! My HK calling card can be used in Oz and it would be cheaper for me to use it over buying an Oz calling card. Mine charges HKD2/minute which is AUD0.30/minute. Thanks anyway.

h2oskineil

We use www.jajah.com for all our international calls, here are the rates below in Aussie $'s to Hong Kong and the UK

JAJAH Rates to Hong Kong

From landline:
0.06 AUD to landline or FREE between Jajah Users.
0.06 AUD to mobile phone or FREE between Jajah Users.

JAJAH Rates to United Kingdom

From landline:
0.05 AUD to landline or FREE between Jajah Users.
0.24 AUD to mobile phone or FREE between Jajah Users.

You will see there are free calls on offer.... get the other person to register with Jajah and the call will be free for a set time per month.

Neil

St.Georges Girl

So you don't think 2 and 3 cents a minute, no flagfall is cheap? Crikey, when we first came to Oz it was almost $1 a minute to phone the UK!

discobay

Well that's globalisation for you.

discobay

Those are fantastic prices. What do you think of the call quality and is there any lag?

h2oskineil

We think Jajah is fantastic and have head sets which we walk around the house doing our chores etc while chatting to the folks back home!

There is a very slight lag sometimes, but on the whole excellent quality.

discobay

The headsets are optional - right?

h2oskineil

Don't confuse Jajah with Skype! It's not a headset for the PC.

With Jajah you use a normal telephone.... we have DECT (digital codless) phone and so can walk about/sit in the garden etc. We simply bought a headset (Retravision) and plug it into the handset so we can do stuff while chatting.

registartion with www.jajah.com is free and they give you some free time to 'play with' and see if you like it. Just make a call now for free and see what you think.
You initiate the call from the web site and your phone will ring... it's magic!

I also have Jajah on my mobile, check out the website for more info, but it uses GPRS on the mobile to make the call and so you are NOT using you mobile phone bil to call. It's dearer than using the landline, but great for haveing the means to call when you need to call.

Neil.