International Phone Calls From Chiangmai

[hill16]

Hi,

I've been trying various ways of making international calls but so far all have cost me a small fortune.

I've tried using my 12call mobile phone card which cost about 30baht per minute.

Pretty much the same using a 300 baht Cat Telecom card.

I tried the Lenso cards that you use from the public phone booths but if you're lucky enough to be able to hear the other person you don't get to hear them for very long!

I'm guessing that the Internet shops that cater for international calls are the way to go so anybody got any favourites they could suggest please?

It's good to talk

Regards,

Hill 16

[chinagal]

Hi,

I've been trying various ways of making international calls but so far all have cost me a small fortune.

I've tried using my 12call mobile phone card which cost about 30baht per minute.

Pretty much the same using a 300 baht Cat Telecom card.

I tried the Lenso cards that you use from the public phone booths but if you're lucky enough to be able to hear the other person you don't get to hear them for very long!

I'm guessing that the Internet shops that cater for international calls are the way to go so anybody got any favourites they could suggest please?

It's good to talk

Regards,

Hill 16

Hi Hill 16,

You can connect to 12Call's various call centers for better rates on international calls on your cell. Depending on which countries you are calling, you can dial 007, 008 or 009 prior to the destination numbers. I use 009 for my U.S. calls, so I would first dial 009 1(country code for U.S.) then local number and its only 5B per minute. Stop by any AIS office for a list of the call centers and discount calling rates.

[hill16]

Thanks Chinagal,

That's even cheaper than the Internet shops. Great! Thanks for that info. Do you have to register with AIS to take advantage of this nice price?

Regards,

Hill 16

[realthaideal]

I'm hardly a techy but I do it with Skype and I only pay 2cents/ min < 1 baht/min. The rest of the time it's free!

It's free if your friends n family have Skype too and are online at the same time. For the US that means I make alot of my calls between 10pm - 2am or from 10am - 1pm from here in order to catch my friends in the am or at night. You can download n learn to use Skype super super easy - even a kid can do it. It's made intuitively pretty much and only takes a few minutes to get it up n running. You need Paypal to purchase Skype mins - that's what you would use to dial computer to your friends' houses or cell #'s directly. Otherwise just call computer to computer for free. Feels much better than enriching the telephone monopoly here.

What you need: 1) adsl connection is best, 2) you should pick up a set of mic and headphones or just a mic, though that gives feedback thru the speakers and makes an echo, ie headset combo is best, 3) Paypal for computer to landline/cell calls

Goood Luck guys...it's totally the way to go!

[chinagal]

Thanks Chinagal,

That's even cheaper than the Internet shops. Great! Thanks for that info. Do you have to register with AIS to take advantage of this nice price?

Regards,

Hill 16

Yeah, it sure beats the 7B +/- per min rate in internet cafes (sorry cafe owners...) with solid connection too.

I have never registered with AIS - but I would stop by their office anyways to find out which call center has the best rate for the country you are calling.

I stopped by to chit chat once and found out that their sim cards have different local calling rates under various promotional programs depending on where and when you purchased and activiated your sim card. Interesting bits of info...

[ihop]

I use 12Call on my mobile and it averages about 5-6baht/min when I call California. I dial 009-1+areacode+number.

Been thinking about trying Skype but procrastinating.

[realthaideal]

At $.03/ baht right now, how can you procrastinate ? Fine, maybe I'm a cheap bassterd, but your choice, $.15/min = 5 b/min vs free ???? Or for the direct computer to phone call it's still great at $.02 vs $.15. That's 7x the savings or talking if you wanna yak for that long.

TBW the skype rates vary based n countries when you call non-skype accts, ie landlines and cell #'s. It's cheaper in the main Western countries, and more expensive in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. At that pt, ok, maybe AIS is a good alternative. But not with UK or USA calls.

[CLASBYCLAN]

Hi

I use skype everyday to call the UK and Iraq. It's very cheap and easy to download and top up with credit.

[mcgriffith]

I've used Skype since Day 1 here.

FINALLY got my technophobe 78 yr old mother to set up.

First words out of her mouth on her first call to me: "I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW EASY THIS WAS!!!!"

God Bless You, Mum (begged you for a year to set it up !?!!).

Little earbud/mic set sell for about 200 B at IT City in Panthip Plaza.

If you don't have Skype, and you have your own computer and internet connection, you're in the Stone Ages.....

McG

Edited July 26, 2007 by mcgriffith

[ChiangMaiThai]

You don't even need a computer these days to use skype. They sell skype phones that allow you to connect to the system from any place that has a wireless signal... If that fails, with the 009, 008 etc. options, really no reason to pay more than a few Baht a minute to the US.

[mcgriffith]

Use 009 as a backup option for emergency calls, etc. using my 1 2 Call prepaid cell.

My understanding is it is actually CAT.

AIS offers their own international phone gateway on 005, haven't tried it yet and compared prices.

And why should I, WHEN Skype IS FREE (or as close to it as you can get.... )

McG

Edited July 26, 2007 by mcgriffith

[mild7even]

Before I got ADSL in my home, I signed up for some service with my cell phone, though I don't know what the name of it is. I paid a 500 baht connection fee, and then 500 baht in credit. The phone calls to the US were costing less than one baht per minute--but I had to dial an access number, which was costing me the usual 3 baht per minute. I could feel the minutes ticking by, and the connection was terrible.

As soon as I got ADSL, I hooked into Skype. I didn't pay via Paypal, but just by credit card.

I have to say that Skype is about the coolest thing ever. Two cents a minute to call the states, and the connections are flawless with a 512K ADSL connection. Big bonus: calls to 1-800 numbers are free. When I have to take care of business with someone who has a toll free number, I no longer worry about being on hold for 30 minutes. Of course, Skype to Skype calls are free.

If you don't have a net connection where you live, I think some of the net cafes have Skype installed on their machines. For the price of a regular net connection (20-30 baht per hour) you can simply use their machines to access Skype.

[el jefe]

www.jajah.com is another alternative. It works very similar to Skype but you need to have both a computer and a phone. You make the call from your computer via Jajah, then your phone rings and you continue the call on your regular phone. I've found that the connections are sometimes better on Jajah than Skype and the rates are siimilar depending on the destination of your call.

[qualtrough]

Skype is the way to go, and now you can do video calls as well. Simple as plugging in your Web cam, and the quality is excellent.

[ihop]

Yeah...what a lagger i've been. Time to give my mom a call via skype.

And buy a nice meal with the savings.

Edited July 26, 2007 by ihop

[lotus eater]

Why do people keep saying skype's free? I understood it's free only to another sype connected computor - and that's not always going to happen.

There are lots of satisfied skype users above to America. Anyone using it to Europe? If so is it much cheaper than the ais 008, 009 option? Anyone know which of those is the right prefix for France and for the UK?

[princealbert]

Why do people keep saying skype's free? I understood it's free only to another sype connected computor - and that's not always going to happen.

There are lots of satisfied skype users above to America. Anyone using it to Europe? If so is it much cheaper than the ais 008, 009 option? Anyone know which of those is the right prefix for France and for the UK?

I am with TOT you can use 007 (9 baht per min) or 008 (7 baht per min) to the UK, but hopefully should have braodband next week so will be using www.voipdiscount.com

FREE calls to the UK. YIPPEE

Edited July 27, 2007 by princealbert

[Donnyboy]

yep, another sykpe fan/user here. Also use MSN messenger to contact non-users when theyre online, but most have skype. If not mentioned already, bonus is the webcam feature which I have employed for the last 2 xmas's to say hi to friends and family.

Paid 20 euros about 18 months ago to credit my skype acc, and have rung every other week since and talked for ages and still have credit! Unlike phonescards which just about finish during midcall!

[Priceless]

Why do people keep saying skype's free? I understood it's free only to another sype connected computor - and that's not always going to happen.

There are lots of satisfied skype users above to America. Anyone using it to Europe? If so is it much cheaper than the ais 008, 009 option? Anyone know which of those is the right prefix for France and for the UK?

I'm using Skype to Sweden. The "basic" Skype service is indeed free, but I usually use the value-added service "Skype Out", i.e. exiting the Internet to the POTS network in Sweden. I then have to pay 0.017 Euros/minute. This is slightly more than a local call within Sweden but surely much cheaper than anything CAT et al have on offer .

/Priceless

[mcgriffith]

Tutorial:

Skype is free computer to computer, anywhere in the world, as long as both have Skype software installed (and appropriate earphone/mic).

To open an account, they require a deposit of 10 euros, or 10 USD. This I think is to prevent 2 billion people in China signing up and hogging all the bandwidth.

When you call to a land line, or a mobile (which is called SkypeOut) this is where you are charged. The current rate to US is 2.1 cents/min. As noted above, cheaper to EU, UK, etc.

I haven't spent even 10 USD in 6 months, and I call and talk all the time.

Spoke to my friend Tanya in Cali the other day for about 1/2 hour. Free.

There are myriad other services and providers of VoIP. But Skype is the simplest to set up and the least equipment intensive, IMHO.

McG

[realthaideal]

"Why do people keep saying skype's free? I understood it's free only to another sype connected computor - and that's not always going to happen.

There are lots of satisfied skype users above to America. Anyone using it to Europe? If so is it much cheaper than the ais 008, 009 option?"

Lotus eater, calm down and listen carefully. YOU CAN USE SKYPE TO CALL CELL PHONES AND LAND LINES. ONCE AGAIN, YOU CAN USE YOUR COMPUTER TO CALL A REGULAR PHONE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE ANOTHER COMPUTER THAT YOU ARE CALLING!!! YES, IT IS CHEAPER THAN THE PLANS OFFERED IN TH. WAY CHEAPER.

Since you seem to be holding out and not hearing what we are saying, here is the link to the prices for what it will cost you, LOTUS EATER to dial your friends anywhere in the world - EU included - from your computer. They do not need to have a computer with skype. If they did though, once again, it would be a free call.

Your link with rates: http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rat...ml?currency=EUR

We wouldn't keep saying it if we weren't onto something here.

[lotus eater]

"Why do people keep saying skype's free? I understood it's free only to another sype connected computor - and that's not always going to happen.

There are lots of satisfied skype users above to America. Anyone using it to Europe? If so is it much cheaper than the ais 008, 009 option?"

Lotus eater, calm down and listen carefully. YOU CAN USE SKYPE TO CALL CELL PHONES AND LAND LINES. ONCE AGAIN, YOU CAN USE YOUR COMPUTER TO CALL A REGULAR PHONE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE ANOTHER COMPUTER THAT YOU ARE CALLING!!! YES, IT IS CHEAPER THAN THE PLANS OFFERED IN TH. WAY CHEAPER.

Since you seem to be holding out and not hearing what we are saying, here is the link to the prices for what it will cost you, LOTUS EATER to dial your friends anywhere in the world - EU included - from your computer. They do not need to have a computer with skype. If they did though, once again, it would be a free call.

Your link with rates: http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rat...ml?currency=EUR

We wouldn't keep saying it if we weren't onto something here.

I'm not sure that you picked up the queries in my post - nor did I think they were less than calm. But others can judge which of our posts is agitated.

My point was that skype was not free unless to another computor - you confirm that is so.

I asked whether calls not to computors were cheaper than the AIS callcentre calls - you have referred me to a site which gives me skype prices which I can now compare. Thank you.

I said that so far everyone referred to US calls - which is so. No one yet has said that they use it as the cheapest option to Europe - which is so. But I'll check it out.

No need to be too defensive.

[Priceless]

"Why do people keep saying skype's free? I understood it's free only to another sype connected computor - and that's not always going to happen.

There are lots of satisfied skype users above to America. Anyone using it to Europe? If so is it much cheaper than the ais 008, 009 option?"

Lotus eater, calm down and listen carefully. YOU CAN USE SKYPE TO CALL CELL PHONES AND LAND LINES. ONCE AGAIN, YOU CAN USE YOUR COMPUTER TO CALL A REGULAR PHONE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, IT DOES NOT NEED TO BE ANOTHER COMPUTER THAT YOU ARE CALLING!!! YES, IT IS CHEAPER THAN THE PLANS OFFERED IN TH. WAY CHEAPER.

Since you seem to be holding out and not hearing what we are saying, here is the link to the prices for what it will cost you, LOTUS EATER to dial your friends anywhere in the world - EU included - from your computer. They do not need to have a computer with skype. If they did though, once again, it would be a free call.

Your link with rates: http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rat...ml?currency=EUR

We wouldn't keep saying it if we weren't onto something here.

I'm not sure that you picked up the queries in my post - nor did I think they were less than calm. But others can judge which of our posts is agitated.

My point was that skype was not free unless to another computor - you confirm that is so.

I asked whether calls not to computors were cheaper than the AIS callcentre calls - you have referred me to a site which gives me skype prices which I can now compare. Thank you.

I said that so far everyone referred to US calls. No one yet has said that they use it as the cheapest option to Europe - which is so. But I'll check it out.

No need to be too defensive.

Lotus Eater,

If you take the time to read my post above (post #19) you will find that I state the price to Sweden (which incidentally is in Europe), you will find that the Skype price to a regular, traditional, wired ("POTS") telephone there is 0.017 Euro. This is also the price to e.g. UK, Spain, France, Belgium and Germany, to name but a few European countries. This price is, as I also noted in my post, much lower than what you can get through CAT et al. Your statement "No one yet has said that they use it as the cheapest option to Europe" is obviously not correct.

Regards

Priceless (with 15 years of background in telecomms pricing)

[coldcrush]

I think you are all beat on this one....why not call for FREE!

US landlines (+mobiles) also UK landlines, excellent connections...look at the list free...

[lotus eater]

Lotus Eater,

If you take the time to read my post above (post #19) you will find that I state the price to Sweden (which incidentally is in Europe), you will find that the Skype price to a regular, traditional, wired ("POTS") telephone there is 0.017 Euro. This is also the price to e.g. UK, Spain, France, Belgium and Germany, to name but a few European countries. This price is, as I also noted in my post, much lower than what you can get through CAT et al. Your statement "No one yet has said that they use it as the cheapest option to Europe" is obviously not correct.

Regards

Priceless (with 15 years of background in telecomms pricing)

You are absolutely right. I wrote carelessly. Am glad to admit it, and even gladder to know the terrific prices. Will hasten to take steps. Wish they also had such spectacularly cheap rates to mobiles - which is what the young (my daughters in Europe) seem to function on almost exclusively.

By the way is your cat a birman? I just bought a pair to join my persian.

[coldcrush]

I think you are all beat on this one....why not call for FREE!

US landlines (+mobiles) also UK landlines, excellent connections...look at the list free...

Lotus Eater,

If you take the time to read my post above (post #19) you will find that I state the price to Sweden (which incidentally is in Europe), you will find that the Skype price to a regular, traditional, wired ("POTS") telephone there is 0.017 Euro. This is also the price to e.g. UK, Spain, France, Belgium and Germany, to name but a few European countries. This price is, as I also noted in my post, much lower than what you can get through CAT et al. Your statement "No one yet has said that they use it as the cheapest option to Europe" is obviously not correct.

Regards

Priceless (with 15 years of background in telecomms pricing)

You are absolutely right. I wrote carelessly. Am glad to admit it, and even gladder to know the terrific prices. Will hasten to take steps. Wish they also had such spectacularly cheap rates to mobiles - which is what the young (my daughters in Europe) seem to function on almost exclusively.

By the way is your cat a birman? I just bought a pair to join my persian.

Still beats the price as it free. Worth setting yourself up for internet calling at voipdiscount

Edited July 29, 2007 by coldcrush

[Priceless]

Lotus Eater,

If you take the time to read my post above (post #19) you will find that I state the price to Sweden (which incidentally is in Europe), you will find that the Skype price to a regular, traditional, wired ("POTS") telephone there is 0.017 Euro. This is also the price to e.g. UK, Spain, France, Belgium and Germany, to name but a few European countries. This price is, as I also noted in my post, much lower than what you can get through CAT et al. Your statement "No one yet has said that they use it as the cheapest option to Europe" is obviously not correct.

Regards

Priceless (with 15 years of background in telecomms pricing)

You are absolutely right. I wrote carelessly. Am glad to admit it, and even gladder to know the terrific prices. Will hasten to take steps. Wish they also had such spectacularly cheap rates to mobiles - which is what the young (my daughters in Europe) seem to function on almost exclusively.

By the way is your cat a birman? I just bought a pair to join my persian.

No, she is not a Sacred Birman, although the breeds are not dissimilar so your mistake is quite permissible. She and our other four cats are Ragdolls, but this a very rare breed here in Thailand. As far as I've ben able to determine there are in total only seven Ragdolls here, so ours would constitute 70% of the total population

[RJJ]

I think you are all beat on this one....why not call for FREE!

US landlines (+mobiles) also UK landlines, excellent connections...look at the list free...

Lotus Eater,

If you take the time to read my post above (post #19) you will find that I state the price to Sweden (which incidentally is in Europe), you will find that the Skype price to a regular, traditional, wired ("POTS") telephone there is 0.017 Euro. This is also the price to e.g. UK, Spain, France, Belgium and Germany, to name but a few European countries. This price is, as I also noted in my post, much lower than what you can get through CAT et al. Your statement "No one yet has said that they use it as the cheapest option to Europe" is obviously not correct.

Regards

Priceless (with 15 years of background in telecomms pricing)

You are absolutely right. I wrote carelessly. Am glad to admit it, and even gladder to know the terrific prices. Will hasten to take steps. Wish they also had such spectacularly cheap rates to mobiles - which is what the young (my daughters in Europe) seem to function on almost exclusively.

By the way is your cat a birman? I just bought a pair to join my persian.

Still beats the price as it free. Worth setting yourself up for internet calling at voipdiscount

I live in Australia and my wife calls the family in Thailand very often.

They live in a village in rural Surin which only has mobile phone access.

We searched all the calling cards and Skype, but all turned out to be a little expensive to mobiles.

That is until I found VOIPDISCOUNT www.voipdiscount.com (as the previous poster says).

Calls to Thailand, both land-line and mobile is free if you dial from your computer.

The real fancy trick with this software is to use direct-call.

This will ring 2 phone numbers and connect the calls together, all for a mere charge of 0.05 Euros connection fee, and calls last up to 1 hour.

As Thai mobiles are free calls, and my land-line in Australia is free, it costs us 0.05 Euros per hour, and this can be done using any speed internet connection, even dial-up as it just needs to keep polling their server to ensure the call should remain connected.

I have been using this service for about 6 months.

Call quality is usually good.

The other feature of this software is the price comparison, everytime you make a call, it will tell you how much SKYPE would have charged for the same call.

Download the application and start saving; even you SKYPE users are paying too much!!!

[mcgriffith]

Thanks for that RJJ, will check out voipdiscount.com (as coldcrush mentioned).

I read on their site you have so many free days. How many days do you get? So many per one month period, or are they certain days of the week, etc.?

McG

[tigerbeer]

Tutorial:

Skype is free computer to computer, anywhere in the world, as long as both have Skype software installed (and appropriate earphone/mic).

To open an account, they require a deposit of 10 euros, or 10 USD. This I think is to prevent 2 billion people in China signing up and hogging all the bandwidth.

When you call to a land line, or a mobile (which is called SkypeOut) this is where you are charged. The current rate to US is 2.1 cents/min. As noted above, cheaper to EU, UK, etc.

I haven't spent even 10 USD in 6 months, and I call and talk all the time.

Spoke to my friend Tanya in Cali the other day for about 1/2 hour. Free.

There are myriad other services and providers of VoIP. But Skype is the simplest to set up and the least equipment intensive, IMHO.

McG

McG, can I try calling Tanya on voipdiscount for 30 minutes too?? u know just so that I can be sure its clear enough next time you make a call to her