How to save money when calling home

For a business traveler or an expatriate on an expense account, calling your home country for business related purposes is probably not a major issue. However, calling home or having members of your family call you when abroad can quickly become expensive. Hence, a recent article (entitled Calling Home for Less) by Matt Gross for his Frugal Traveler column in the New York Times Travel Section is well worth reading by any road warrior or expatriate who will be based abroad for any length of time. 

Here were some of the programs, services or options mentioned by Matt:

• SKYPE – Anyone who is remotely tech savvy who travels or lives a considerable distance from those they need to stay in touch with will probably have SKYPE phone software installed on their computer plus the software can also be installed on iPhones as well. However, the recent purchase of SKYPE by eBay has left the company in a murky area as the purchase did not include buying the software code that makes SKYPE operate and the company founders have set up a new company that owns this code. In other words, the days of free calls may end after a British court sorts out the legal details of the merger.
• Google Phone – SKYPE now has serious competition, some of which is coming from Google Phone which is offering international rates that are comparable to SKYPE’s. Currently however, Google Phone does not offer an iPhone option.
• JAJAH – Also, JAJAH has gained a following by offering inexpensive international calls to user who first dial a local access number in the country they are visiting. However, the service currently offers local access numbers mostly for European countries – doing travelers in Asia little good.
• VOXOX – However, Matt writes that he is now completely sold on VOXOX as a solution because you don’t need a computer or internet access or an expensive phone to use it and the rates are similar to SKYPE’s. Moreover, VOXOX offers SMS Callback where you can use a local SIM card, then send a text message with the number of the person you are trying to call to Voxox and then wait for your phone to ring and for the person you are trying to call to answer.

Matt also briefly mentions the MagicJack – a device that I have used for some time now that simply plugs into my computer (any phone can then be plugged into the device) and can be used to call any USA or Canadian number for free. Moreover, users can obtain a phone number with a local North American area code (most major area codes are now available) where you can also be reached at so long as your computer is turned on and connected to high speed internet (otherwise, calls to your number are recorded on voicemail and sent to you via email). The device is very cost effective (US$39.95 plus shipping and handling and then US$19.95 a year) for those who will be calling North America plus low international rates are offered to other countries. Generally speaking, I have experienced few problems with the device (although I have had to reformat mine after it had stopped working on a couple of occasions).

In addition, I have used Net2Phone in the past to make calls from landlines to other numbers globally. However, one drawback of their service is that local access numbers are not necessarily available in all countries that one might find themselves visiting plus you still need to find a payphone.

Thus and given all of the above options, business travelers and expatriates will now find plenty of affordable options to stay in contact with those you need to be in contact with no matter what part of the world you or the other party is located in.