Using your mobile phone in a foreign land presents a bunch of different problems. Of course, the best way to deal with it is to travel on business for a company that can’t be bothered to set all of this up and would rather just pay your $2500 mobile phone bills. If that isn’t the case here are my notes saving a few bucks.
Most people know that you can use Skype or Google Voice to make cheap or free international phone calls, but it can be confusing to set-up. Here’s what i do.
The Basics
Skype makes it really easy to make “calls” and video chats to other skype users with there messaging software. Pretty much everyone has tried this out with out too much trouble. You can also make phone calls to regular phones from Skype at very low per minute rates. You just need to add some credit to your account and dialing out using the dial pad.
Skype offers some other confusing (but useful) services:
Online Numbers allow you to create a phone number that people can call that will ring your skype account (or fwd to another phone). Which can be very handy when you’re jumping boarders. For example, I have a Skype Online Number in the 310 area code that then fowards to my Skype account so i can answer the call from my computer anywhere in the world, or fwd it automatically to any phone number in the world. When i arrive in a new place i simply log into the Skype program on my laptop and enter whatever disposable prepaid SIM card Phone number. Though, keep in mind you end up paying for the connected call out of your skype credit, though generally it’s about a penny a minute.
Skype Subscriptions allow you to pay a low monthly fee and get free calling to a specific country, or part of the wolrd. For instance, $5 a month flat fee to call China as much as you want, or unlimited global calling for $13, which is what i do.
Skype To Go provides you with a special access number in your area where you can call then dial an international number for super cheap international phone calls from any phone. I don’t use this service, but I can see how it would be useful for a family
Skype for smart phones is another layer of the Skype onion that I use frequently. A version of Skype is available for most smart phones (iPhone, Nokia, Google Android Phones). These apps very slightly but they all allow you to sign into your Skype account and send messages to other skype users, or Dial regular phones with the same low per mintute rates that you’d expect from the desktop software. I use the Skype iPhone app to make international calls from far-flung countries with out having to use up my expensive minutes. I just use up my pre-paid data allotment, which is generally much cheaper.
Google Voice or gVoice allows you to establish a virtual phone number that you give out to everyone and when that number is called it forwards the call to which ever of your numbers is best for you at that moment (or all of your phones at once). This is great if you’re have a mobile a home landline and office line. Instead of giving out all three numbers you just have one to remember. Disconnecting your number from your telephone can be very handy if you want to switch your cell phone provider, or you move frequently or, as I have found if you travel internationally a lot.
Google Voice also has some great voicemail features like automatic transcription so you can read your voicemail in an email rather than listen to it. It’s much less tedious to glance through 5 transcripts than to listen to 5 messages. gVoice voicemail settings are also easy accessed on the web so if you need to rerecord your greeting overseas you don’t have to make a $30 phone call.
Google voice also lets you fwd calls automatically to voice mail in selected windows of time. This is great to prevent your chinese mobile from ringing off the hook all night when you’re trying to get that important first night’s sleep on your rock hard Chinese Jin Jang hotel mattress.
SIM Cards are very useful. I wasn’t going to go mention them in detail, but I thought that I might lose some folks there. SIMs are little plastic rectangles with computer chips in them that some mobile phones store all of your account info on. If you switch the SIM card you switch your number. It’s a little complicated, but very useful.
The most common phones to use SIM cards are GSM Phones. Most mobile phones outside the USA are GSM Phones and have SIM cards. Inside the USA most mobile phones that are on At&t or TMobile are GSM phones and have SIMs that can be switched (if the phones are unlocked, lets just assume your phone is “unlocked” for this article)
How to get all these things to work together
Getting these services to work in concert can be a little bit tricky. It helps if you use them even when you aren’t traveling overseas so you have some level of comfort when you’re exhausted and frustrated on a late night in an uncomfortable place.
Rerecord your normal voice mail greeting explaining that you’re traveling internationally and wont be checking voicemail and direct people to your gVoice number (or your Skype online number).
Google Voice is a great catchall, any messages that people leave will be easily accessible from the web, even if you don’t get your mobile phone set-up in your new country for a few days.
This also lets people know that they may not hear from you for a few days which can be helpful.
If you’re using Google Voice, be sure to add your Skype Online number to your list of numbers.
Get a prepaid SIM in your new country ASAP. You can usually pick them up at news stands or convenience stores as well as mobile phone shops.
When you have your new international mobile phone number up and running. Log into Skype on your computer and add the new mobile number as a forwarding number.
Using data instead of voice service
All of the above is great when people are trying to get ahold of you, but how do you call them back when you’re on the streets of Sydney with only your mobile phone in hand?
In some countries the international call rates from mobile phones are really reasonable. In major Chinese cities it can be as cheap as a few cents a minute to call the USA. In other places, you’ll get raped. But, you’re not totally stuck if you have a smart phone with Skype installed you can make a phone call over the data network.
In Australia on the Three network it costs me about AUD$.12 cents for a megabyte of data. It costs AUD$.30 to connect a call then AUD$.40 a minute after that. a 10 minute Skype call is less than 5 MB so Its a total win.
When i sat down to write this i thought that I might clear up this mess for a few people. Looking back at what I’ve written, i doubt that very much.
