Best long distance phone carriers?

[Ricky]

Need help with finding the best long distance phone carriers to Cali, Colombia. Got my phone bill today from AT&T. $ 3.51 per minute. Ridiculous!!!

[DallasSteve2]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

A few years ago AT&T called me up asking for my business.  I told them I was paying $.20 per minute to Colombia.  They said they could give me $.18 per minute or something like that so I switched.

They were lying and they billed me the $3.51 per minute.  I think they sub-contracted the telemarketing to some unscrupulous company.  I paid them $.20 per minute, but not the remaining $3.31 per minute.  After about a year they stopped trying to collect.

If you never asked how much the rate to Colombia would be you really don't have an excuse.  But if they promissed you less, don't pay.

I switched my long distance back to NetOne International which is $.20 per minute to Colombia.  I may check out some of the others mentioned below.  Their website is:

http://www.netoneint.com

Steve

[solo]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

3.51 is bad.  Buy an IDT phonecard (Called the New Jersey Card, Florida Card, etc.)  I pay .75 connect charge and then around .07 per minute.

[lswote]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

When I am not using a calling card I use 10-15-335 WorldXChange which is $.16 per minute to cell phones and $.15 per minute to regular phones. They have a 10 minute minimum. I have not used 10-10-345, but they also report a $.16 per minute rate to cell phones. They say they have no minimum time or connect fee, but I had used 10-15-335 before and knew the quality of their service. You can find out about both of them at:
http://10-10phonerates.com/south_america.html

Micheal B turned me onto www.stiphonecard.com about a week ago.  They charge only $.09 a minute to cell phones in Colombia with no connection fee and even less per minute to regular phones.  The quality of service has been good.  This is what I use most of the time.

[pablo]

... in response to Re: Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by lswote on Sep 10, 2002

Personally, I did not like using the 10-10 #'s especially WorldXChange as they charged for attemted phone calls that rang but weren't answered.  Dealing with their customer service was, how can I say it politely, non-exsistent.

If your novia has access to a PC with micro/speaker setup and MSN, it is easy to talk over the internet and for the price (free) the quality is fine with me.  I frequently speak with a lady in Bogota using this method without too many glitches.

[DallasSteve2]

... in response to Re: Re: Best long distance phone carrier..., posted by pablo on Sep 10, 2002

My fiancee had NetMeeting in Cali.  (she is here now)

There are two problems with using the Internet to Colombia:

1 - It is free for us, because we are already paying for the ISP.  For many in Colombia, including my fiancee, they pay by the minute or the megabyte, so the more they use the Internet the higher their bill.  Her first month was about $80.  OUCH!  That would be a lot for DSL but in Colombia they have SLOW.  Which brings me to number 2,

2 - The connection in Colombia is bad, at least in my fiancee's case.  She often could not connect, webpages open very slow, and the audio/video on NetMeeting varies between OK and tin can.

Steve

[michaeljay]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

I use a calling card called Genesis which costs about
$0.08/minute.  The call quality is excellent. You can
purchase online with a credit card and the pin # is sent
directly to your mailbox instantly.  Here is the link:

http://speedypin.com/phonecard/start.html?af=585

[Jebster]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

go to www.1010834.com. Then, on the left side, look at "dial arounds". There you will find 3 alternative plan options, one of which will basically meet most of your needs, and is much cheaper than most of the rates quoted on this thread. I have found the connection quality to be excellent. In some States, the plans are not available. It is a dial around service and billed by your local phone company on your monthly statement. Note that calling cell phones is usually more expensive.

[yc]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

The best calling card plan I have used to date is from: www.click4prepaid.com ... I have used it to call Brazil, Peru and the Philippines.  There is a 70¢ connection fee after which you are charged at a flat per minute rate.  There are no other fees unless you a calling from a payphone or something.  The connection quality is excellent unless you are calling to a cell phone.  They also offer international callback for those that are interested in such feature.

If you decide to go with them, just go to the web address provided above and sign up.  I did have a small problem when I initially signed up.  I do not recall exactly what it was.  It was not anything major.  I think it had to do with the fact that any issues that may arise is handled via email.  I took them a few days to fix the problem.  Here is a listing of some of their rates.  My rate to call Lima, Peru was 9.5¢/min.

Country Code .... Country .......................... Rate Per Minute
-----------------------------------------------------------
55X ............. BRAZIL - SPECIAL SERVICES ........ 21¢  
5521 ............ BRAZIL - RIO DI JANERO ........... 6¢  
5511 ............ BRAZIL - SAO PAULO ............... 6¢
5531 ............ BRAZIL - BELO HORIZONTE .......... 10¢  

57 .............. COLOMBIA ......................... 15¢  
571 ............. COLOMBIA - BOGATA ................ 12.5¢  
572 ............. COLOMBIA - CALI .................. 10¢  

51 .............. PERU ............................. 15.5¢  
51x ............. PERU - SPECIAL SERVICES .......... 39¢  
511 ............. PERU - LIMA (NON SPECIAL SERVICES) 8¢  

632 ............. PHILIPPINES - Manila ............. 14.5¢  
63 .............. PHILIPPINES ...................... 14.5¢  
639 ............. PHILIPPINES - Cellular ........... 18¢

I hope this helps!

yc

[Ken2]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

dude,

when I first started using Planet Love someone gave me a AT&T number saying it was cheap.  After realinz it was $3 +  change adding to over 500$ bucks for a little over an hour of usage.  AT&T  would not budge any way, no how!!!!
I flipped.  I now use Sprint 39 cents a minute (plus miles with Northwest) and phone cards.  I use LA INDEPENDANCIA $5  for a 90 minute card.

Ken

[Buck]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

Hi Ricky,Try www.nobelcom.com   .I use them to Peru and am very satisfied.You can get cards to Cali for up to .09/min.There are several plans.Like I said I like them.FWIW.Buck

[DavidMN]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

As Hoda said, try 10-10-345.  It'll come through on your local phone bill as "Lucky Dog Phone Co."  It's a 30 cent connection fee and 16 cents a minute.  After fees and taxes it will work out to 17-18 CPM.  Not as cheap as a phone card, but much more reliable.  Lucky Dog is owned by a little telco called AT&T Corp., but you won't find that mentioned on their website.  That way, they can keep sticking you for $3.51 per minute (ouch)!

I assume the calls are traveling on AT&T's network and as I wrote a few days ago, you can get through with a good Lucky Dog connection when the phonecards may not work at all (weather, high traffic, etc).

I use Lucky Dog for evenings and phone cards for daytime and weekend days.

[Red Clay]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

There are quite a few prepaid cards that work well with good quality connections for rates that are around 15 cents per minute or less. We use one to Peru called UTA, you can find them at stores in Latin neighborhoods. This card is also a good choice [even cheaper rates] to Colombia than to Peru.

[mudd]

... in response to Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by Ricky on Sep 9, 2002

acculink has a plan for $.13 min. it is taken out of your credit card every month, and you can check the ballance at any time on line.they also charge $1.50 a month service charcg, but its better than a connection charge. sometimes the connection is not so good, but over all, i like it. if i cannot get through, i use my local carrier, who charges $.33 min.

[Cali vet]

... in response to Re: Best long distance phone carriers?, posted by mudd on Sep 9, 2002

The charge used to be a dollar for any month in which you made calls. I guess the've upped their rate. I use cognigen (on line) for my regular long distence and they charge $.209 per minute to Cali.