The author, on further adventures, trying to get a phone signal in theArizona desert by attaching wire and pipe to a cell phone antenna.Believe it or not, it actually worked. Lesson learned, he’s found amuch easier way for you to call home.
International Living Postcards– your daily escape
Friday, Jan. 13, 2005
Cuenca, Ecuador
Dear International Living Reader,
Staying in touch with friends and family can eat up a significant chunk of an expat’s budget. The same goes for the folks back home–those overseas calls to talk to you can be expensive, too. A growing number of expats and their families that I talk to have found a way around this, using a phone service that relies on VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) instead of conventional telephone networks.
You’ll find plenty of fine VOIP providers in the market these days (I use many of them), and each has their particular strength. But if you make overseas calls, you should look at one company in particular: http://www.voyze.com/.
Voyze works using a broadband Internet connection, and like its competitor, http://www.vonage.com/, does not require a computer to operate. But Voyze, unlike Vonage, is specifically targeting the international market (plus, you can pay by the minute with no contract).
Although Voyze’s international rates look pretty good in some markets, remember that no company is good in every market–so check its rates for the places you intend to call. Rates start at 2.9 cents per minute, which is the rate to call the U.S., Canada, and Buenos Aires.
But here’s what I particularly like about this outfit: Let’s say that you live overseas, but most of your family lives in Los Angeles. You can have a local Los Angeles number in your apartment in Buenos Aires or Paris, and for $19.99 per month, your friends and family can call you with no limit…and you can call them and talk for 1,000 minutes before you revert to the per-minute rates. Or perhaps you’re in the U.S. and know a lot of people in Mexico. You can get a plan that allows you unlimited calling to anywhere in Mexico for $39.99.
Same goes for a local Brazilian number (or other foreign number) installed in your apartment in New York, or a Dallas number installed here in Ecuador. Plus, no matter where you are, you can get a special quote on a "family network."
If you like what you see at the Voyze website, you can get an IL reader’s discount with this link. You pay a lower subscription fee (i.e. the cost of the "box"), and you’ll get up to 300 international minutes free during the first month.
Lee Harrison
Roving Latin America Editor, International Living
P.S. I’ve just circled "May 25-27" in my calendar–that’s when I’ll be speaking at the Live & Prosper in Ecuador Conference in Quito. Among other things, I’ll give an in-depth presentation on "Staying Connected While Living Abroad." It deals not only with communications, but also finances, credit cards, and mail. I hope to see you there. For more details, contact Patricia Goltry at conferences@internationalliving.com or tel. toll-free +1-866-381-8446.
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