Guides

Drive to reduce international call costs continues

With nearly half of the world’s entire population now being regular mobile phone users, the campaign to lower the price of international mobile phone calls is picking up speed.

It was recently reported that the European Union is to restrict price charges across the eurozone, not only for calls but data and text, as from 1 July this year.

In the meantime, whether you use your mobile regularly when abroad on business, or simply want to take it with you on holiday, there are an increasing number of ways to ensure you aren’t greeted on your return to the UK by an unexpectedly large phone bill lying on your doormat.

With this in mind, a new lite version of Skype has recently been launched, available to download on Android-powered devices including T-mobile’s much-hyped “G1” handset and over 100 of the most popular Java-enabled mobiles, including those supplied by LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

Using a mobile internet connection without the need for WiFi connectivity, “Skype Lite” can be used as usual to make a free Skype to Skype call anywhere in the world, providing you have both a calling plan and data plan in place. Otherwise, if your contact isn’t signed up to Skype you can still make low cost international calls to the United States, Poland, Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Australia and New Zealand.

If your mobile doesn’t already have the software installed, you can download it yourself by going to www.skype.com/m.

It may be, however, that your mobile isn’t one of the more “popular” models. In which case, “Localphone” may be of more use to you.

Set up by entrepreneur, Paul Cusack, a regular international traveller; Paul was the whizz kid who invented VoIP technology and made all our lives a lot simpler (and cheaper). In a nutshell, Localphone is a broadband phone service, allowing customers to make low cost calls from any location with a broadband internet connection, for less than the price of a local phone call.

So how does it work?

By registering for a free Localphone account and topping up your credit, you simply enter the international numbers you regularly use, and they will all be allocated individual local numbers, meaning that you will only pay local rates when you ring those people. And of course, because they are classed as local numbers, your mobile price plan should include them within your allocation of free minutes. Genius!

Although the news from the EU is a welcome move, there really is no need to wait on prices being capped. There are many services, software and deals on the market to enable you to make low cost international phone calls from your mobile, making your price plan or credit work harder for you. So what are you waiting for?

Mobile Phone Packages Uncovered

Choosing a mobile phone package continues to be a bewildering experience for many people. With seven major networks in the UK, all offering numerous products, how many consumers really take the time to shop around for the best deal to suit their circumstances and lifestyle?

For heavy phone users, contracts remain the best solution. Usually available over 12, 18 or 24 month terms, careful examination of amount and type of usage will normally yield an appropriate tariff and offer value for money by taking advantage of offerings including free or low cost talk time and savings on text messaging and voicemail retrieval.

Strikingly, the price of calls between a contract package and pay as you go, or “prepaid” can vary considerably, calls made from prepaid phones being charged at up to 35p per minute more than from a contract phone. In addition, with a contract, users will only pay for the exact amount of time spent on a call, whilst prepaid users’ time is often rounded up, to achieve more revenue.

Although once tied into a contract it is unlikely the user will be able to get out cost-free until the end of term is reached, it does have its benefits. These come in the form of either a deal to reduce the price of your calls on a new contract if you sign up with the same provider, or a free or heavily subsidised new handset, allowing the user to gain an up to date new model, keeping up with trends at a fraction of the price.

Prepaid contracts hold much more attraction for those people who want to keep a tight rein on their spending and usage, so are much more cost-effective for light users, particularly children or those who only have a phone in case of emergency.

In this instance, handsets will need to be purchased, although older phones can always be sourced at reduced prices. Although calls will usually be charged at a higher rate and there is a charge to access voicemail messages, this package is ultimately the choice to avoid a large unexpected bill landing on your doormat.

In recent months, and, as has been suggested, possibly as a result of the economic downturn, SIM only offerings have flooded the market to meet with rising demand.

In a recent report, O2’s SIM –only Simplicity tariff made up ¼ of the operator’s new consumer contracts, up to 31 December last year. There is less interest from a large segment of consumers in purchasing new handsets and indeed many operators are discouraging customers from replacing their phones by allowing short notice cancellation of contracts and more free or reduced minutes if they commit to an additional long-term contract.

For those who are less concerned about their mobile phone spend, not interested in keeping up with current trends and are happy with their current model, the SIM only option is an ideal solution.

By deciding what your personal needs are, both now and in the short-term future, you can lay the groundwork to wade through the various offerings and identify the right package, avoiding the pitfalls and cutting through the jargon, to make sure your mobile phone works for you.