I have a son in Iraq and was wondering what is the most economical way to communicate with my son. I have looked at my home phone plan as well as my wireless plan and they are still expensive. Do you use calling cards? If so, which are the better cards? Of course skype is probably the cheapest way to go but internet coverage is not always ideal. What say you? I should add that my son will probably purchase a cell phone in Iraq so he will have a static number.
Hi, Andrew. You might check out Skype. Not the best video quality, but when my Navy son was in Guam, not only did I get to speak to him, we could see each other. Not full motion video, but better than nothing. Not sure about their charges everywhere, but the Guam calls cost nothing. As I recall, Skype to Skype is free anywhere. Skype to a landline somewhere may not be. Worth checking out anyway. Hope he is well! And tell him, "THANKS"!
You might just want to give your cellphone provider a call and ask them. I don't know what coverage would be like over there, but usually calls within the same carrier (ex: Verizon to Verizon) are free. I have no idea if that's true with overseas calls or not, but worth looking into... Otherwise I'd have to 2nd the Skype option, although he may not always be around internet access... And absolutely give him a big Hoo-Rah! and Thanks! from us here!!! :happy088
Hi Austin, I make lots of calls to Japan, and also called regularly to South America in the past. Calling cards worked best for me, although you have to sorta pick and choose for the best ones. The cards sold here in Illinios may very well not work in other states, but the rates to those two countrys have been 3-4 pennies per minute. Now there may be a charge every time the card is used(which takes off minutes) or there may not...depends on the card. Also, calling to a cell phone cuts the minutes available in around half or thereabouts. Land line calls are the way to go if possible. If you can find the right card, it can be a nice deal. Start with a $5 one first to check it out. Hope that helps, Martin
When I moved to Italy, I set up my daughters with net2phone so they could call me for free. I've been using it for 6 years now and am happy with it but I haven't price shopped since.
Skype to skype is free, skype to a landline is cheap and skype to a cellphone is a bit more. It's definitely the most economical phoning I've found internationally; I don't even have a landline. I get 2.2 cents a minute calling my mom on her cellphone in America from Japan. Iraq is certain to be more, but probably not too terribly much. You do have to buy Skype credit, and it charges up your account like a prepaid cellphone. Check it out.
Easy, all he has to do is call a base in the states from a duty or courtesy phone by dialing the DSN number. The base operator can then connect him through. Say he calls Andrews AFB, he can talk to anyone in Maryland for free. Say he calls a base in Texas, he can talk to anyone in Texas for free. Get the idea?
The way service is over there, it's best for him to get the phone (expensive) and call you at certain times, etc. Best of luck to you both!
+1 to Vonage. I have personally used it here in India for US calls using a 64-128K link and it works very well. Though am not sure about the quality of internet links out in Iraq. I wud trust the skype services to enable directly calling a number in Iraq...
