I need to make some calls from Thailand to the US. They must be transferred through several departments and I expect to spend a considerable amount of time on hold. (I am familiar with gethuman .com, but in this case it will not help.) Any suggestions for the best rates?

 

By the way -- don

the best way and cheapest way to phone any where is skype on the computer

I find for for business calls Skype is very much hit and miss. Often the quality of the line is so bad I have to resort to a landline.

I love Vonage.com. If you get a USA number and have high speed interent, it is a set monthly fee of 19.95 a month for unlimited calls in the USA, Canada and Europe. I find it great when I travel. The clarity is excellent and when I am away, all my friends and family can use the number to call me free of charge as well.

 

http://www.vonage.com

I would have to say Skye is the cheapest I have found. Yes, sometimes the quality sucks but what do you expect for a little over two US cents a minute. I have always been able to communicate even when the quality is not the best (sometimes an echo). At one of the internet shops, go to www.skype.com and create an account and user name. Put $10 US in your account via pay pal or credit card and talk nearly eight and a half hours to any land line or cell phone in the US or Canada.

 

The next best deal I found is using your cell phone. I have one, two, go and just dial 009-1-(three digit area code)- (the seven digit number). I believe that it is about 7 or 8 baht a minute.

 

Well, you do need broadband for Vonage and you need the box which I don't think they will ship to Thailand directly. Skype didn't work for me on dialup well at all. I use Vonage now and love it; brought the box from the US.

 

I suggest you try www.jajah.com !

No need for broadband, it uses your phone although the calls are started from the computer. I think the rates are decent Thailand to US. Right now, the site is under maintenance, can't quote exact rates.

I have used Skype a lot but you just need a good internet connection.

 

Stef

I use Skype too when I talk with friends and family outside of Thailand. Of course, if they also have Skype, it's free. My connection is almost always crystal clear and just as good, and most of the time actually better, than a telephone connection. It is also compatible with web cams so we can see each other. It's the best communication program I've ever found.

 

If you want to download Skype, it's free. The URL for it is http://www.skype.com

 

 

On Gaybutton's recommendation - I second the motion! I just recently started using Skype and am very pleased -- so far, no problems with quality. My niece in USA does not have broadband, so I call to her cell phone or home phone - about 2 cents per minute. The first time, she said the quality was much better than when I was using TOT/CAT. A close friend, at my suggestion, just downloaded Skype - we have talked 2 or 3 times computer to computer (free) and the quality has been very good.

 

One feature I would like to mention -- before when I called "800" numbers in USA, I had to pay for the Thailand to USA call plus listen to the operater first say in Thai and then in English that I would be charged for the call before it went through. Well, with Skype, calling an "800" or "888" number is FREE. This is especially good since most of these numbers are to businesses that have an endless stream of voice mail options and then put you "on hold" continuously telling you to stay on the line because your call is "important to us." At least with Skype I can play "solitaire" or otherwise use the computer to occupy my time while waiting for them to answer my "important" call.

I do not know if it is true, but someone said that Skype is now charging a 6 US cent connection fee when calling to cell phones or land lines in North America. From Thailand, rates are still a little over 2 cent a minute. Anyone know anything about this?

Yesterday, I called from Thailand on Skype to my Niece in USA - to her cell phone. Rate shown being charged was .017 euro.