Consumer revenge: Cheap home phone calls

It’s Christmas time and we’ve all got loved ones rudely overseas at this time of festive cheer. In this globalised world, people are spread across the world.

There’s no time you want to hear their voice more than the silly season, so here are a few suggestions as to how to get and stay in touch cheaply.

Skype

Skype has its flaws. Connections can drop out, the quality can be poor and planes interfere with your calls. It can be a frustrating experience, but if you want cheap communications, then nothing I’ve used ever tops it. A computer based communications system, installing it is free. Once installed, set up your account to find everyone else you know who uses Skype and you can call them for free.

Skype also offers significantly reduced rates of calls to landlines or mobile numbers. It’s pretty simple, you put a bit of credit on your account and can call internationally for peanuts. I traveled for two months and probably only spent a 5 euros on calls home.

I’ve been told that if you have a couple of dollars credit, your call quality will generally be higher. Tip: The person with the best Internet connection should be the one to call, as that improves your chance of a good connection.

VOIP

VOIP is similar to Skype, with Internet based calls. I’ve had a much more positive experience with VOIP, with the call quality being very good. However, it’s a new technology and set to improve so I expect it to get much better.

The benefit over Skype is that, for an initial outlay of capital, you actually have a handset. From then on, it’s 1,000 free calls anywhere per month with some VOIP plans.

Engin is Australia’s number 1 VOIP provider and offer VOIP rates that are rather good.

Chat

Internet chat doesn’t have the same kind of intimacy as a call, but it is cheap and easy. Some instant messaging services are better than others, Facebook chat being notably bad. MSN Messenger is still good, and the Skype chat is fantastic. Working on a virtual office, Skype chat proved a crucial tool for communicating with other staff members.

Ping

If you’re an iPhone user, and I am an evangelical convert to the iPhone cause, then you need Ping. It’s an iPhone application that allows you to text free to other Ping users, which arrives on their phone just like an SMS. If you’ve got teenagers, it may be a cost-effective measure to buy them all iPhones and set them up with Ping. The money you’ll save on bailing them out of an enormous phone bill will make it very worth it.

Another important element is to understand how you use communication tools. If you can’t have a SMS conversation shorter than 6 texts just to arrange dinner, maybe you should consider calling instead. If you waste time on the phone organising something that could be said in one sentence, maybe you should alter your behaviors to SMS more often. Whatever your communication style, shop around for the provider that has a good deal for your style of use.

The Internet has made communications significantly cheaper, from the online-based calls through to social media as an easy way to stay in touch. A world without email is unfathomable and while people may yearn for a simpler snail-mail-and-landline days, it is also a very cheap way to stay in touch.

How do you stay in touch cheaply?

Do you use VOIP?

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