Thank you all for your advice so far. It has helped me tremendously.
Since I too have had problems with E-Plus (in 2007) I am inclined to try Fonic. What's holding me back is Fonic's much higher roaming rate for calls from
some country via
Germany to some
other country. Of course, if you can't make or receive the call, then it is cheaper still, isn't it?
The roaming does represent only about 20% of my intended use.
I'll be out-of-touch for a few days and will respond to the most recent, and any future posts, when I return. Thanks again.