This article originally appeared in the January 2000 issue of International Living in print. It has now been made available for all readers.

by Nicholas Pullen

Though deregulation of the U.S. telecommunications industry dramatically reduced the cost of international phone calls from the United States, no such changes have occurred elsewhere. International call rates in other countries can be up to ten times higher than what you’ll pay back home.

However, you can lower them significantly by subscribing to a "callback" service-a revolutionary phone service that allows you to make international calls from anywhere in the world on a U.S. phone line.

How callback services operate

A callback service enables you to import cheap dial tones from the countries in the world that have the cheapest phone rates. When you use these discounted dial tones, you are billed according to these cheap rates instead of the rates charged by your "home" telephone-service provider.

It works like this:

When you subscribe to a callback service, you are given a special telephone number to call. It is usually (but not always) a U.S. number-because international long-distance rates are usually cheapest in the United States.

When you want to make an international call, you first call your special callback telephone number. After you’ve dialed, you let the phone ring once and then hang up. Nobody will answer the call-so you don’t get charged for it.

The number you’ve called doesn’t belong to a person or a business. Instead, it’s connected to a large computer. Your call triggers the computer, and it calls you right back. When you answer your phone, you’ll hear what sounds like a regular dial tone.

However, it isn’t. Instead, it’s a discounted dial tone imported from the United States. You can now make your international call using this line-and the call will be charged at the cheap U.S. international rate.

Save up to 90 percent on hotel calls

A callback service can save you money in another way, to It helps you avoid operator-assisted surcharges when you make calls from a hotel room. Most hotels attach an enormous surcharge to calls (100 to 800 percent of the actual cost of the call). But with a callback service, you don’t have to pay it.

Kallback, the oldest callback-service provider, consistently provides low rates, high-quality lines, and 24-hour customer service. The company already serves 90,000 customers in over 200 countries. As Kallback Chairman and Founder, Joel Eisenberg says, "We are simply providing the rest of the world with a level of telephone service that Americans have known for years."

Subscribing to Kallback’s callback service can save you over 50 percent on local telephone rates (depending on which country you are in), 80 to 90 percent on hotel rates, and 75 percent on AT&T’s USA Direct rates.

Below are some typical call rates you can access when you subscribe to the Kallback callback service. All rates represent per-minute charges.

Typical Savings from the United Kingdom

· Calls to Australia: £0.11/US$0.18 (compared to British Telecom’s rate of £0.49)

· Calls to Switzerland: £0.14/US$0.24 (compared to British Telecom’s rate of £0.28)

· Calls to the United States: £0.09/US$0.15 (compared to British Telecom’s rate of £0.24)

· Calls to Canada: £0.10/US$0.17 (compared to British Telecom’s rate of £0.24)

· Calls to Hong Kong: £0.15/US$0.25 (compared to British Telecom’s rate of £0.58)

Typical savings from Switzerland

· Calls to the United States: £0.17/US$0.27 (representing a 72% saving over Swiss phone company rates)

· Calls to the United Kingdom: £0.20/US$0.32 (representing a 52% saving over Swiss phone company rates)

Typical savings from Germany

· Calls to the United Kingdom: £0.15/US$0.25 (representing a 57% saving over German phone company rates)

· Calls to the United States: £0.13/US$0.21 (representing a 75% saving over German phone company rates)

Low monthly service fee

Kallback charges a service fee of US$10 per month but requires no deposit. You pay for calls by credit card, which Kallback charges weekly for phone calls you made during the previous week. Calls are billed in six-second increments. Monthly itemized statements are mailed directly to an address of your choosing.

If you don’t want to pay by credit card, you can pay by electronic funds transfer from a U.S. bank account, bank transfers, or checks (US$). The drawback of these methods is that Kallback requires pre-payment for calls (US$200 to US$500).

For more details, contact Kallback, 417 2nd Ave. West, Seattle, WA 98119; tel. (206)284-8600, fax 270-0009, E-mail:info@kallback.com, Website: http://www.kallback.com.

Reliable alternative providers

In addition to Kallback, there are literally hundreds of companies offering callback services. Some are good, some are not so good. Be aware that sharks are out there-preying on people looking for bona fide callback services. If you make a mistake, it can prove costly.

For example, I had a bad experience with one service: After I’d made numerous complaints-and after the company concerned had failed to correct any of the problems-I asked the company to return the US$300 I’d deposited as a pre-payment against calls I anticipated making. But my request I was ignored, my service was cut off, and I found it impossible to get my money back.

Since that time, I’ve looked closely at many of the international callback services on offer and can recommend these services in addition to Kallback:

· Global International Callback: GIC can save you up to 60 percent on your international calls. Contact GIC, 301 Burlington Avenue, Fairfield, Iowa 52556, United States; tel. (515)472-1550, fax 472-1620, Web site: www.usagl.com.

· Justice Technology Corporation: JTC was ranked number 1 by the International Telecommunications Association in 1997 and 1998. JTC’s callback service can save you up to 70 percent on your international calls, and you can use it in over 220 countries and the service has over 25,000 existing customers. Contact Justice World Headquarters, 6700 Centinela Avenue, Culver City, CA 90230, United States; tel. (310)526-2000, fax 526-2100, Web site: www.justicecorp.com .

· You’ll also find the International Callback Center a useful source of information. This organization can provide you with comparisons of rates and options at three more callback service providers: Access Authority, ClearWorld and WorldAccess. Contact the International Callback Center; fax (407)975-2831, Web site: www.tet.pt/callback.htm . IL