Cheap calls to Europe and USA using your computer.

From wwwdotSkypedotcom down their program and install it on your computer. Then register using your own username and password. Using Skype, computer to computer calls are free.

You can also buy credits by credit or debit cards to make calls to landlines and mobile phones in Europe and USA.

The rates for land lines is 0.017 Euro per minute and mobile phones is 0.025 euros per minute. You can also check the prices to countries all over the world on Skype web site.

This will save all the expats alot of money calling back home.

Good Luck everyone.

That sounds good to me. Another alternative is Vonage. I have just ordered mine so I haven't been able to try it out yet. But it doesn't have the limitation of making sure the other person on the phone also has the internet phone. You can call to and accept calls from any normal phone. I'm going to have a San Diego phone number so my relatives there can call me for free. I will also get 500 minutes/month to call anywhere in the USA and Canada for $15 but you can get unlimited for $25. On standard international calls they offer very low rates as well.

Skype has not worked at all well for me using a slower dial-up type of connection. It seems for it to work well you need some kind of higher speed internet, ie., ADSL.

That sounds good to me.  Another alternative is Vonage.  I have just ordered mine so I haven't been able to try it out yet.  But it doesn't have the limitation of making sure the other person on the phone also has the internet phone.  You can call to and accept calls from any normal phone.  I'm going to have a San Diego phone number so my relatives there can call me for free. I will also get 500 minutes/month to call anywhere in the USA and Canada for $15 but you can get unlimited for $25.  On standard international calls they offer very low rates as well.

Dancali, Please let me know how it work out. I would like to buy the service but use ipStar and do not know if that will suffice in quality and speed to use Vonage. I have sent them email but do not get a reasonable response that tells me anything concrete. Also please advise as to the power differences and any other problems you will run into. I understand that they now include a Linksys unit that can connect to the network via network cable.

Been using it for months on end and have on occasion run across some with dial to have a lag in response time but can still understand them perfectly and it's all FREE, which I think is the greatest. Isn't going to make any of the telephone companies happy with it but who cares, they have ripped people off for years. I tell everyone about it.

Cheers,

Kringle

Been using it for months on end and have on occasion run across some with dial to have a lag in response time but can still understand them perfectly and it's all FREE, which I think is the greatest. Isn't going to make any of the telephone companies happy with it but who cares, they have ripped people off for years.  I tell everyone about it.

Cheers,

Kringle

Are you talking about Skype or Vonaye? With ipStar?

Skype is the only one I have used and don't think that Vonage (vonaye?) is the best for me because my contacts are too wide spread (too many different states and countries) for it to be viable. Don't know anything about Ipstar but will check it out. I am on adsl and most of my contacts are also, so for the odd call that I get unsolicited from someone on dialup is irrelevent to me. I also like the fact that I can block any caller with the Skype program.