Have this been shared before?

[Andy(original)]

Hi,

On http://www.net2phone.com You can make a calling card for Your girlfriend in the philipines...The card can be recharged by You when the need arises, and it is directly connected to Your net2phone account.

I am not sure how well it works, but maybe some of You have tried it!

I would imagine that it is a perfect emergency solution.

regards,

Andy

[Dave H]

... in response to Have this been shared before?, posted by Andy(original) on Feb 14, 2001

Hi Andy,

My fiancee doesn't have a cellphone or a computer. In an emergency, my fiancee will call me, hang up and I will return her call. If I am not home, she will leave a message on my answering machine and I will return her call ASAP. Either way, she will probably be charged for 1 minute. She could call collect and I would refuse, saving the charges.

As Ray said, prepaid phone card rates are hard to beat. I pay .12-.14 cents/minute (Lucky Sea, Destination Asia) with no connection fees. I have had clear connections, not been cut off, and have always gotten through. With my AT&T "One Rate International Value Plan," I pay .27 cents/minute and usually get an "all circuits are busy" announcement. It often takes 10-30 minutes to get through at my usual calling time. I also pay $4.95 for the "One Rate Off-Peak II Plan" (required) and $3.00 for the "International Value Plan" each month, whether I make a call or not. Plus there are taxes and surcharges.

Since I discovered prepaid cards, I will eventually cancel my AT&T plan. I still make a short call occasionally, for relationship evidence. I also write the date/dates of my call on each calling card and make a copy when I get enough to fill a page. Calling cards also help me to limit the length of my call ($10 Card at .14 cents/minute = 70 min), which I often find difficult to do on my own. Since using calling cards my phone bills are approximately half of what they were before, using dial arounds (i.e. 10-10-502 .21 cents/minute, plus a $4.95 access fee each month when used) and AT&T.

If you need your girlfriend to call you on a regular basis, Ray's cellphone rate (.40 cents/minute) is great. I was paying $3.00/minute using my AT&T Calling Card to call the US from the Philippines. If the rate had been good, I would have given it to my fiancee to use after I left.

Dave H.

[Ray]

... in response to Have this been shared before?, posted by Andy(original) on Feb 14, 2001

Andy,

I haven’t used Net2Phone, but I looked at it before and it just doesn’t look practical. Very few Filipinas have home computers with Internet access, which is expensive over there. Most are using Internet cafes, so the computer they are renting would have to have the software and a headset installed before they could use it.

Also, I just checked Net2Phone’s rates and they’re not that cheap. They get $.36/minute from the Philippines to the US. Add in the cost of the computer rental, if she can even find an Internet café that is properly configured for this, and it costs more than a regular phone call. My wife can call me from her cell phone anytime for $.40/minute.

Net2Phone gets $.19/minute if I used it to call from the US to the Phils (Manila $.17), which I can easily beat with a prepaid phone card, so why put up with the intermittent connections over the Internet? I know there are free Internet phone services available for calls originating outside of the US, so I just don’t see any advantage to using this service, unless you’re putting a lot of weight on the fact that you can pre-pay for her from your end, which doesn’t help me personally.

Ray

[greg]

... in response to Re: Have this been shared before?, posted by Ray on Feb 15, 2001

Hi! Ray, My Mahal still use the ERICSON A1018(very good cell phone) using the Smart Buddy GSM Pre-paid plan that you recommended. Can you give some tips on the calling cards or whatever she can buy to call California at low cost? We now communicate using MSN Messenger that only cost p40 per hour. It's more fun, I used to pay $15 bucks an hour using MCI long distance. I know that the calling cards are more cost friendly, since I'm hearing impaired, I must use a special California Relay Service to call the Philippines. So, You Guys are lucky to be able to use any low cost card. Mr. Peabody

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Re: Have this been shared before? -R..., posted by greg on Feb 15, 2001

Greg(Pisbody),

She doesn't need any special card or anything to phone you. It’s part of the regular Smart Buddy service. It will cost her US $.40/min (approx P20) for international direct dial calls but that’s a lot cheaper than last year when it was $.99/min. You better tell her to load a P1,000 card before she calls.

We probably exchange 15-20 text message per day, which is one of the cheapest ways to communicate. That sucks if you can’t use phone cards when you call her.

Ray

[Andy(original)]

... in response to Re: Have this been shared before?, posted by Ray on Feb 15, 2001

Ray,

I wasn't writing about the Net2phone telephone program...I was refering to the fact that You can open an account, charge Your visa, and call her with the calling details(account #, Pin #, phone #) and she can call You back right after that from any phone...Besides, if You are the nervous type You can just check the call history to see if she's got another guy lined up...

[Jimbo]

... in response to Re: Re: Have this been shared before?, posted by Andy(original) on Feb 15, 2001

Trust, but verify.  I think my wife, the lovely and gracious Sally, believes in that policy too )

Jim

[Dave H]

... in response to Re: Re: Have this been shared before?, posted by Andy(original) on Feb 15, 2001

Andy,

I like the call history part. ;o))

Dave H.