phone card problems

[maya62 7]

We signed up for pingo.com and sent them $20 for an account, only to find that we are unable to call my husband's parents in Nepal using this account. Numerous calls and an email to customer service have been unsuccessful. They haven't even responded to the email sent Monday.

My in-laws live in a remote hill village where the only phone service is by cell phone. We know the cell number works because we have talked to them twice using our regular (ridiculously expensive) long distance service. So, I have two questions:

1. Is there some reason a regular long distance service can call this number but a calling card service can't?

2. Does anyone know of a more reliable phone card service that serves Nepal?

Any information that can help us solve this dilemma would be most appreciated!

Maya

[eekee 182]

Have you considered trying skype? That's what I use to call people's cell phones in Russia, and it's pretty cheap.

[maya62 7]

Thanks eekee, I'll check into skype!

Well, now it turns out that the phone in the village may actually be a satellite phone! So I have to modify question #1 to ask: is there some reason a regular long distance service can reach a satellite phone, but a calling card service can not? I'd really like to understand this!

Thanks,

Maya

[AlHayatZween 2]

Wow, satellite phone, i don't know... i'm sorry.

Skype is really good for some people, especially if your in-laws have an internet connection, which would make it free, i think. The rates weren't so good to call cell phones, however. Cell phones are always more expensive.

We've used Nobel phone cards, which you can buy online. They are not the cheapest, but have a reliable connection and 1-second rounding. i think their website is www.noble.com??

Also, mostly i just buy phone cards from the convience store. If you are in D.C., i'm sure there are a lot in your area. The Boss Card is pretty decent in terms of not ripping you off and getting a pretty good connection.

Again, this might all be different with a satellite phone....

Good luck!!

hz

[Imua 0]

We signed up for pingo.com and sent them $20 for an account, only to find that we are unable to call my husband's parents in Nepal using this account. Numerous calls and an email to customer service have been unsuccessful. They haven't even responded to the email sent Monday.

My in-laws live in a remote hill village where the only phone service is by cell phone. We know the cell number works because we have talked to them twice using our regular (ridiculously expensive) long distance service. So, I have two questions:

1. Is there some reason a regular long distance service can call this number but a calling card service can't?

2. Does anyone know of a more reliable phone card service that serves Nepal?

Any information that can help us solve this dilemma would be most appreciated!

Maya

Unbelievable - I have Pingo too and I have never had problems calling Govi's mobile so calling Nepal is not the problem. Which provider do your ILs use? You might want to try a company called Nirvanatel - they specialize in Nepal and their rates are competitive with Pingo.

[Imua 0]

Have you considered trying skype? That's what I use to call people's cell phones in Russia, and it's pretty cheap.

I looked into this but their rates to Nepal suck(I think .33/minute). Also doesn't the other person need to also have a computer to get the cheapest rates? I wish we could use Skype because calling on a landline or mobile there is usually such a bad connection that we hardly ever call each other...

[Niels Bohr 72]

Try doing research using VOIP such as skype, joi, vonage, etc...

[JanaknJanet 0]

I would look into onesuite.com It looks like if you use a local number and the phonecard to Nepal the rates would be ... Nepal countyr code 977 @$0.4450

ONESUITE

I have used Onesuite primary for calling Bhvanager... get a rate of $0.0800 the other good thing is. with onesuite you can print off a log of the calls made. good for paperwork..