Calling Cards to Phils

[kev_n_jena 89]

Okay, after reading another post this seems very trivial but I'm gonna post it anyway.

We've been trying to use calling cards for my fiance to call her parents. The last one we tried was "hello asia". The quality of the calls was so bad that its unusable. Her parents are in Northern Samar and the cell phone is on the Globe network. It was the same when she was in Mindanao on Globe. The cards we tried never worked well enough to use them. I'm thinking its just the Globe phone network there not being compatible with the way the cards route the calls. Does anybody know?

When we call direct from our cell phone to her mom's cell phone it works fine, just not with the calling cards.

CP to CP is .20/min. plus $5/month access fee.

Kevin

[Jasman0717 9]

I have been using masterbell.com for Claudeth. My phone company also offered an international discount she when she was in the Philippines it really saved me a bundle to call her. Of course, like an idiot, I removed it when she came here so nearly passed out when I got my first phone bill after she had arrived........$2000 and there was another $1000 on the next months bill I am still ranting and raving about that and that was over 2 years ago

[Dakine 26]

I have been using masterbell.com for Claudeth. My phone company also offered an international discount she when she was in the Philippines it really saved me a bundle to call her. Of course, like an idiot, I removed it when she came here so nearly passed out when I got my first phone bill after she had arrived........$2000 and there was another $1000 on the next months bill I am still ranting and raving about that and that was over 2 years ago

Jeez jasman! You could have bought her family a couple PCs and set them up with DSL for that.!

Kev> We use Balikbayan and Ilocandia phone cards occasionally.[When YM is down]. Never have any problems with them

What jasman! Looks a bit HOT over on the other side of the pond today!

Edited September 5, 2007 by beckypua

[RandyandRina 2]

I work in the telecommunication company; and I have worked for wireless, VoIP and prepaid calling cards. Unfortunately, all the calls coming from any platform (wireless, VoIP and prepaid calling cards) do have level of quality how the calls are routed, and it all depends on any of these platforms who can terminate these calls from the US (or anywhere) to the Philippines.

In plain English, you get what you paid for. Ex. If you use:

*regular cellphone to Phils= most expensive; good quality

*VoIP (YM, Skype) to Phils= quality relies on the IP latency (DSL/ Broadband= better quality; Dial-Up= varies on the location)

*Prepaid calling cards to Phils= their cost per minute varies, quality too varies depending who's termination they are using (PLDT= best quality, Smart= good, Globe= sometimes unreliable, etc)

Edited September 5, 2007 by RandyandRina

[rouguewave 7]

Hi,

I use calling cards that I purchase online from http://stiphonecard.com/ The first purchase it takes a little time to clear the Credit Card transaction, but afterwards it clears immediately. I've been buying from them for 1.5 years since I started courting honey ko. Its hard to pin down the EXACT cost of the call, but its a < 0.10 per minute. The variables include whether I call her cell or a landline to reach her and if we consume the whole card on a single call. The exact card changes within the STI family too. I suspect this is because they purchase bulk quantities of trunk time and package into cards. When they are gone, its a new cycle. So, when I go to replenish my cards its often a different card from the company for around the same price.

I usually buy $10 cards and plan (successfully) to use it up on a single call. This gives us over an hour of talk time and coupled with a cam its nice to hear and see her. I generally purchase multiple cards at the same time, so that I can get the best discount. They will periodically send email enticements for further discounts and I use these if I'm running low on PINs.

The quality is mostly good, although at times I'll have to try repeatedly to connect. But once it goes through its clear (from my side anyway). If I call her on her cell, it can be frustrating if the call drops or shes on a cell boundary where the quality will depreciate. The one small downside to this method is that it doesn't contribute to our "evidence of ongoing relationship" directly. The company will not provide records of calls made, although I've gotten them to confirm calls when I've talked with their customer service on the phone. All told, I'll keep using them.

We've also chatted using Yahoo IM voice chat and its "not bad" but can be spotty and delayed because of the reasons stated above. Its free and the better the connection at both ends (DSL, CABLE) the better the quality. It also helps to have headsets as you get vicious feedback with mic & speaker set up. (Ok, so I tried this for a while before flipping $15 for a headset).

That's been the experience so far.

[Jasman0717 9]

I have been using masterbell.com for Claudeth. My phone company also offered an international discount she when she was in the Philippines it really saved me a bundle to call her. Of course, like an idiot, I removed it when she came here so nearly passed out when I got my first phone bill after she had arrived........$2000 and there was another $1000 on the next months bill I am still ranting and raving about that and that was over 2 years ago

Jeez jasman! You could have bought her family a couple PCs and set them up with DSL for that.!

What jasman! Looks a bit HOT over on the other side of the pond today!

Duh, if only I knew what she was doing when I was at work

Yea Monday it was 108 in this room, now it is a pleasent 67

[Robor007 0]

If you're calling a mobile phone in the Philippines check out http://www.mobilecaller.com. They were the lowest I found. Very easy to use as well in that just an 800 number and short PIN rather than a long calling card number.