Looking for better phone rates or alternative to Skype

My BF and I currently use Skype, and the regular phone, for our calls. Skype has never worked well for us. I can hear him fine, but he has never been able to hear me well. He said it sounds like I am talking underwater all the time. We have tried various things to fine tune these calls (different headsets, and adjusting the controls, etc.), to no avail. The phone plan I have is 6cents per minute, plus a monthly fee of $4.95. Doesn't sound bad until all those minutes start piling up.

I've seen old threads that suggested different numbers to get better rates. My question is, what currently seems to be the best rate from the States to the UK, or alternatively, is there an internet phone program better than Skype?

Thank you so much.

I use OneSuite to subscribe to an 800 number which my family can use to call me in the UK - it's 3 cents a minute, and they can use the number from any location.  It's a prepaid credit sort of thing - every couple of months I bung another $10 or $15 onto the account through paypal and we're good to go (and someone from my house usually calls me at least once a day!).

From the UK, we use TeleDiscount - an 0844 number that is connected to our BT landline and costs 1p a minute for calls to the US (except for 800 numbers, which are 2p a minute).  DH has been using this service since we first got together (four years ago yesterday!) and it's about 98% reliable - every once in a while you get a bad connection and have to hang up and dial again, but that's about it. 

Meg,
Thank you so much for this information.

Autumn

There is also nomi-net africa and you can find it on line you can buy a card and if you call after 9pm from uk you can get free unlimited calls my wife used to get £20 and it lasted her few months as she never used the actual credit on the card but toward the end of its life would use it during the day to call me to use the card up before expiry, you can get different values.

Also telewest do calls unlimited so as long as you used the land line number on the card it was also free so the whole thing did not cost more than £20 for a few months cool.

Hope that helps also

Indy

Meg,
Thank you so much for this information.

Autumn

No problem!  Hope it works for you.   I'd go mad without my phone calls home!

Try callingcards.com. My current card rate to the UK is 2.2 cents a minute. I have a PIN number that simplifies the call and I can top up my card any time. It's been a lifesaver.

Funny, I'm in the US and I hear him fine, but HE says *I* talk like I'm underwater. He says I sound like a dalek. His theory is that they throttle bandwidth on his side.

I wonder...

Indy and Stoatula,
Thank you both as well!  I will definitely be looking into these alternatives. I just knew there had to be better rates then what I am getting. The phone bills have rivalled a mortage payment! 

Thanks so much!

If you have Sky, Sky Talk is great. Otherwise, Vonage is good too. Both give unlimited calls to the U.S. (or to the UK if you're calling from the U.S.) for a flat rate. It's something like $20-$25 for unlimited Vonage calls, and Sky Talk is $10 a month for unlimited calls if you have a Sky plan.

Like Meg my fiance uses a 1639 number off the land line, I doubt it costs more than 2p a minute. I can try to find out the company name, but once you dial the 1639 you put in a pin for your account and lets you know how much money you have left to talk. 

But according to my Fiance when we move we're getting some Orange internet/phone plan that includes free calls to the US. I hope so because I miss home already.

Good luck!

But according to my Fiance when we move we're getting some Orange internet/phone plan that includes free calls to the US.

That's what we have! We have occasional trouble getting through, but it's great most of the time. For the price I don't mind having to redial a couple of times every now and then...

I have Vonage and all calls to the UK are included in the $25 per month. Plus for an extra $5 a month I have a UK phone number that rings to my line so that he can call me at local rates. The only time I've had problems with Vonage is if I'm downloading torrent files, I have to pause them or he can't hear me.

Thanks everyone for the great ideas!


With Vonage, do you have to be sitting at your computer on headphones or can you use a regular telephone?

With Vonage, do you have to be sitting at your computer on headphones or can you use a regular telephone?

You just hook a Vonage modem up to your computer but use a regular (digital) phone. And if for some reason my internet goes down, it will ring to my mobile phone when someone calls. You have to set it up that way but it's free. I've only had that happen once. It also emails you any voicemails that come in and you can listen to them on any computer. I've been really happy with Vonage. I was scared to switch at first because I didn't know much about it. Like I said, my only gripe is that if I'm downloading (and I download a LOT) I have to pause it or it breaks up and people have trouble hearing me. So that can be a pain for me, but if I know I'm going to be on the phone I just pause my downloads.

Hmmm. This sounds like the way to go for me!  Thanks so much for the info!

Autumn 

Yep, we did Vonage when I was in the states, and Mr. Moggs ended up getting Vonage here about 5 months before I moved over.  We've kept the UK one because it gave us free calls to the US and all over the UK for about £8 a month.  I was shocked and stunned to find out how much we pay for landline calls here if we don't use the Vonage phone.