Hey everyone! So these past few days I have been doing some research on cell phones. I have an At&t phone that can be activated to be used abroad. They have this World Traveler plan that (at least for my phone) it would cost me $5.99 a month in addition to $0.99 a minute. My text messages would cost $0.50 to send but nothing to receive. They made it seem like a good plan, but $0.99 a minute seemed a bit pricey to me. I have skype, which does have a feature to call telephones and I forget exactly how much it costs, but it is pretty inexpensive, you just have to use your computer. Right now I am going through other types of phones. Here are my findings:
Orange– www1.orange.co.uk
This mobile service is based out of the UK…to call to America (under their Pay Monthly plan) would be 1.10 pounds. Under their Pay as you Go plan it is 1.30 pounds per minute. The site was a little confusing, so you might have to check this yourself.
Virgin Mobile– www.virginmobileusa.com/rates/InternationalCalling.do
It is $0.20 per minute in the UK, with $0.20 to send a text message, $0.10 to receive one (This is probably in addition to a certain package and paying for the phone).
O2- www.o2.co.uk
Under Pay & Go there is a service called Discount Country if you will be frequently calling one country. For the US it is 9p per minute and 2.55 pounds per month. Discount Country is also available to pay monthly. It is 9p per minute as well, plus 3 pounds a month.
International Traveller Service is only available under the per month category. It seemed to be geared more towards business people. It would be 2.99 pounds per month and 17p per minute to the US. For some European countries it would be 17p per minute.
Vodafone–www.vodafone.com
I have not gotten a chance to check out this site yet.
Magic Jack– www.magicjack.com
I could not get this link to work for whatever reason, but it is supposed to have good rates.
To me, the Virgin Mobile seemed like the best deal for me. Of course, you all know you have to purchase a phone and pay for a package in addition to the international rates. If anyone has any other findings or advice, please post it! Thanks!
