[snaimon]

IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A LANDLINE in the UK, I think you will do better with a calling card for calling to your son in FR. I'll have to defer to our British friends for advice and details. The VODA-passport should let you call overseas on 1 call for .75 pounds, which is not cheap for a short call.

Our French and other more knowledgeable friends will correct me if I am wrong. For your son in FR, I have never been impressed with mobile rates in FR; quite hi it seems to me. Not sure they have any MVNOs. They family and I are going for 2 weeks this summer and I already have a UM+ card, a TravelSIM from Estonia and a SUNSIM from Germany. We don't plan to buy and FR sims while there. I believe the outbound rates from our currents sims to FR landlines is 39 ecents and 59 ecents to mobiles. Apart from any special rates which one can add on to the FR sims for a certain "prix", these rates are reasonable and comparable to most FR prepaids. Not really expecting any inbounds, but on the TravelSIM and UM+ those will be free. TRUE, we might be calling on another, but there is always the SMS. Another bad side for the FR sim -- I believe one of our members wrote me -- calling "toll free" numbers with your FR sim is NOT a free call. Again, if son would have access to landline, I believe the old stand by calling card would be better for international calls to you in the UK.

There may be other fancier options using data either over the phone or with a PC or laptop, but you don't mention whether you or your son will have access to such devices.

See what others write.

Bon voyage!

Stan