Free Calls to US from India

Few months back when my best friend shifted to New York, I realised how painful ISD bills can be. Then began my hunt for ways of calling US, then for cheap calls and then for free calls...

Getting ISD on your mobile:

I am an old customer of Vodafone, so it wasn't a problem to activate ISD on that. However, I guess if you are a new customer, you might need to pay a security deposit. I also have a BPL connection but they refused to activate ISD without additional deposit. I have heard Idea in Mumbai just needs a deposit of Rs. 1000 to activate ISD.

And of course, it is pre-activated on prepaid cards.

But ISD Costs a lot:

Yes, Rs.6.40 per minute to USA. And if you are used to talking for hours, it's going to make a significant dent in your pocket. But there's a cool alternative...

Call to US for Rs. 1.99 per minute:

Answer is ISD cards on your existing mobile... These cards are available in various denominations. You can buy a card for Rs. 2500 and can make calls to US for Rs. 1.99 per minute or Rs.2.99 on Rs.700 card. These cards are available with all major operators (Vodafone World Calling Cards, Airtel International Calling Cards, Idea Global Calling Card). Operators of yesterday like BPL don't have any such card (and many other features).

PS: You have to buy this card from your mobile operator. You can't use Airtel card on Vodafone and so on...

PC to PC free calls:

Well, if you have good internet connections on both sides, you can make free calls from Net. Google Talk and Skype are two services with good voice quality.

Unlimited Calls to US Landlines and mobiles for Rs.280 per month:

Here comes my favourite. Use your PC or wi-fi connected mobile to make unlimited calls to US for just $5.95 (approx Rs.280 see exact) per month. Check out Skype Subscriptions.

PS: You also get a free USA number that rings directly on your computer.. Cool :)

There are many SIP/VoIP companies and clients, but I have found Skype quality to be the best. I have wasted some money trying others too...

Skype with free PC to PC and cheap US calling on your mobile:

Just install fring on your mobile and make free PC to PC calls with Skype and Google Talk. Also make Skype calls to landlines and mobiles.