Best Value Way to Call Russia?

[Scott and Iryna 2]

strange... maybe i'm just lucky

skype to skype

skype to cell

skype to landline

probably

Are you wearing a headset on both ends? I noticed that when Iryna does not uses the built-in speakers and microphone, the quality is not bad, but so-so. I shipped her a nice headset, and now the quality is tremendous. We love Skype, we can talk, see each other on the web cam, and also just chat with instant messages. We send pictures to each other by just dragging and dropping, very simple. I also use it to send SMS messages to her phone in Russian. I can see why eBay payed 2 billion bucks for Skype! Of course I'm a little worried about the future, as eBay will certainly find a way to charge more to make more...

I wish it had built-in language translation for text messages, that would be handy and save me time... but what do you want FOR FREE?

[cwaf 1]

you misunderstood about MagicJack. Only the person with MagicJack needs broadband, and Skype 'out' is not free. MagicJack allows you call any telephone number--mobile or landline--at no additional cost perminute. I also have Skype and have used it with headsets to speak to my daughter who is currently in school in Costa Rica. While the calls starts out fine, after about 30 minutes, every call has become choppy and then drops out. That is also the same when calling on good connections at both ends. I have nothing against Skype, but Skype (free) would not allow my fiance to call me at my office, or call to my cell phone. I understand that not everyone has broadband, and we are very fortunate that she has it here, so MagicJack is not for everyone. I mentioned it as an alternative if the situation is right for you. I am very glad we have it and have already spent 3 or 4 hours talking to each other with it. She has called me on my cell while I drove to my parents for a visit, and then called my cell while at my parents (they do not have broadband) and spoke to my mother for the first time. That was a thrill for both of them! I am happy with it and will gladly pay 20 a year for the ability for Sveta--and her sister later on--to pick up a telephone (and not a headset) and call any of my telephone numbers.

Edited May 7, 2008 by cwaf

[cwaf 1]

you misunderstood about MagicJack. Only the person with MagicJack needs broadband, and Skype 'out' is not free. MagicJack allows you call any telephone number--mobile or landline--at no additional cost perminute. I also have Skype and have used it with headsets to speak to my daughter who is currently in school in Costa Rica. While the calls starts out fine, after about 30 minutes, every call has become choppy and then drops out. That is also the same when calling on good connections at both ends. I have nothing against Skype, but Skype (free) would not allow my fiance to call me at my office, or call to my cell phone. I understand that not everyone has broadband, and we are very fortunate that she has it here, so MagicJack is not for everyone. I mentioned it as an alternative if the situation is right for you. I am very glad we have it and have already spent 3 or 4 hours talking to each other with it. She has called me on my cell while I drove to my parents for a visit, and then called my cell while at my parents (they do not have broadband) and spoke to my mother for the first time. That was a thrill for both of them! I am happy with it and will gladly pay 20 a year for the ability for Sveta--and her sister later on--to pick up a telephone (and not a headset) and call any of my telephone numbers.

Sorry...I meant to say that MagicJack allows you to call 'any telephone in the USA or Canada'--which is why it is so great for Sveta to have it. She could call any of my family at any time, just like I could with my cell phone.

[Satellite 1]

MagicJack sounds great but in our case I'd much rather prefer to get a local Russian number and install it here in the US, because my wife's relatives all lack broadband, because no cable or copper wires were ever installed in their homes. They use some kind of "radio" telephone devise for phone services. Internet can only be obtained through a cell phone using GPRS or setting up a satellite devise at about $8,000 for both ends, $1,000 for downloading only.

[cwaf 1]

MagicJack sounds great but in our case I'd much rather prefer to get a local Russian number and install it here in the US, because my wife's relatives all lack broadband, because no cable or copper wires were ever installed in their homes. They use some kind of "radio" telephone devise for phone services. Internet can only be obtained through a cell phone using GPRS or setting up a satellite devise at about $8,000 for both ends, $1,000 for downloading only.

WOW! I do not know anyone, personally, that could afford that cost! Yes, in your situation, MagicJack is definitely not a good option. Maybe someone else here can use it, maybe not. My fiance never had internet in her home until we met online, and then she had it installed so we could communicate easily every day. I wish I had known about MagicJack back then! :-) I just hope everyone discovers a way to communicate easily with their loved ones. Communication is the only way to build, and maintain a relationship.

well, I am off to the train station in a little while for the overnight train to Kiev. I wish everyone happiness and success!

[John and Anna 0]

I have high speed internet at home and changed my phone to use it.

Using verizons voicewing product = .5 cents a minute to russia - better rates than ATT and other VOIP

plus $25 a month gets my unlimited local and long distance - plus I can listen to my voicemail online plus a slew of other features

Any questions ask me.

www.voicewing.com

[Neonred 3,553]

I have high speed internet at home and changed my phone to use it.

Using verizons voicewing product = .5 cents a minute to russia - better rates than ATT and other VOIP

plus $25 a month gets my unlimited local and long distance - plus I can listen to my voicemail online plus a slew of other features

Any questions ask me.

www.voicewing.com

Doesn't look like much of a deal to me. Their web site indicates 14 cents a minute to most of Russia and 16 cents a minute to cell phones. That's at least double what I am used to paying.

[SVIChet 0]

Has anyone ever used TelphinUSA? Information is at www.telphinusa.com. It's VOIP with unlimited calling to Russian Landlines and other countries.

[Satellite 1]

Has anyone ever used TelphinUSA? Information is at www.telphinusa.com. It's VOIP with unlimited calling to Russian Landlines and other countries.

$44 a month for unlimited to Russia...kind of pricey for us. I like there direct line approach but again it only covers Moscow and St. Petersburg numbers and because where my relatives live in Russia broadband is too expensive to setup a local US number to call them.

Still hard to beat:

http://www.internetcalls.com/en/faq.html

At 120 days of up to 300 minutes a week for only 10 Euros. This lasts my wife typically three months.

[Neonred 3,553]

Has anyone ever used TelphinUSA? Information is at www.telphinusa.com. It's VOIP with unlimited calling to Russian Landlines and other countries.

$44 a month for unlimited to Russia...kind of pricey for us. I like there direct line approach but again it only covers Moscow and St. Petersburg numbers and because where my relatives live in Russia broadband is too expensive to setup a local US number to call them.

Still hard to beat:

http://www.internetcalls.com/en/faq.html

At 120 days of up to 300 minutes a week for only 10 Euros. This lasts my wife typically three months.

We have been using internetcalls.com for a long time now too. Can be used from Russia on a dial up connection also. Go to settings and select connection type either high speed or dial up. We are happy with the service and the price.

[SVIChet 0]

Thank you for the information. I'm going to try internetcall.com. I have a Linksys VOIP router (SIP calls) that I will use use with my broadband connect. This will allow me to make calls even if my computer is tied up or shut down.

I just set it up and it works great. With my VOIP router I can even plug into my wall jack.

For anyone wanting to send free SMS text messages from you computer, most cell phone providers have a form on their website so you can send free SMS text messages to phones connected to their system (this is free for sender not receiver, unless included in receiver's phone plan). For MegaFon (cells phone numbers beginning in +7 (921) and +7 (812) the url is http://www.megafonnw.ru/info/eng/sms

[slim 1,523]

What's the cheapest way you guys have found to call mobile phones in Russia?

Time Warner has the awesome deal of $20/month for unlimited calling to Russia but it's only to landlines. Do the cards/deals mentioned above include calls to mobiles as well?

[Neonred 3,553]

My VOIP provider is Viatalk. They charge 4 1/2 cents per minute for calls to Russian cell phones. That's their regular rate. There are no special plans you need to pay extra for.

[Ohotnik 0]

What services are people here using and which ones have good quality? I am looking for something inexpensive, but at the same time I am trying to find a service that has pretty good voice quality. It can be calling cards or an internet service, but I would prefer something that I can use over the phone. I call her at work due to the time difference and the web filter interferes with Skype and other services. So, any practical advise will be great and I am not looking for the cheapest one, but something that will give me good quality at a reasonable rate. Thanks!

- Steven

We use a calling card from Discall.com. We pay 1.9cents per minute to Moscow and 3.9 cents to Samara. She also calls Estonia and Austria with similar rates. Cell phones are a little more but reasonable to some of the rates I see here. You can put multiple access numbers that you can call from at no additional cost to you.

[Brad and Vika 129]

Hello all. I use a phone card called Seminaya (Family) Card, that I bought at a Russian grocery. I call Ukraine, and you all have me thinking that I might be able to find a better deal than the 6-12 cents per minute. I think I will create a post or two to investigate.

Any way, the card comes from MasterCall/GS-1, and here is the web site www.GS-1.com. I thought it might interest some of you for the following reasons:

1) 1 cent per minute to Moscow, 1.4 cents to St. Petersburg, 4 cents to anywhere in Russia.

2) You can recharge a PIN code online for 90 days (so you buy a $5 card and can put $50 on it if you want).

3) You can buy a card/PIN online

4) If your call fails to connect in Europe - there is no charge when you hang up.

Now if my math is correct, they do charge more for calls to mobile numbers.