Is UM the best for this...

MATHA531 · 11-07-2007, 16:06

To me, the rise in termination fees makes UM almost a no go these days. Also the CBW increase means it is more expensive to use CBW to call the USA or whatever then the naitive UM.

Right now, to me, the best deal seems to be O9....cbw charges only 16¢/minute, I did have some issues with cbw with them this past couple of weeks but still am not aware what caused it so I wouldn't necessarily blame cbw. Enlinea lists its Iceland rate as 18¢/minute. Termination fees are a non issue if I use the pin2dest on cbw and I suppose getting a dedicated 800 number from them is the next step; call forwarding 800 services are expensive to Iceland and to Estonia too as is the fall back I had a lot of success with in the past. I used to call forward directly off my verizon landline and the termination fee to Liechtenstein used to be 1¢ (not a typo); it's now well over 30¢.

Of course O9 doesn't have a roaming agreement in Switzerland. Also although rates to Estonia on cbw are listed as very low, I have never gotten a callback on an Estonian mobile and termination fees to Estonian mobiles are also very high.

This whole business of the high termination fees to the international sims in Liechtenstein, Iceland and Estonia is very very fishy to me...smells like some sort of conspiracy quite frankly on the part of telcoms to discourage people from using them.

Now what will happen when the eu roaming fees come into effect are anybody's guess. It's also interesting that both cbw and enlinea continue t have very high rates from UK mobiles. Now of course if in the UK, with Orange call abroad or Mobile World, it's a non issue as I get great rates. But using an Isle of Man sim outside the UK with cbw is not all that economical (although they have drastically lowered their rates to France and I believe Germany to half that of the UK)...hm conspiracy again?

So to sum it up, probably today my best bet is O9 (although they're new voicemail system has gummed up things for me....I ended up with 48 calls in my voicemail on O9 caused by callbacks from enlinea and cbw and wonder if the lost of my O9 credit had something to do with it).

herkdrvr · **Sms? -** 11-07-2007, 16:41

I've found in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium, the UM card works very well (very reliable). Can't speak to the costs as I only use it to call the US. However, I'm wondering if it would be better for you to use SMS between UM phones for staying in contact on those jaunts where you split up? Just a thought.

I'm ditching my UM card shortly, after I get back from this trip and my Travelsim card arrives. I'll keep the UM card long enough to insure my Travelsim works better and costs less or the same.

I've had serious problems with UM in Australia and moderate problems in China and the Emirates. Of course, it continues to not work in New Zealand, and I haven't figured out why. And the "help" side of UM is not really helpful. Never has been but if it's possible, it's gotten work.

Good luck!

TheMadBrewer · 12-07-2007, 05:40

As for O9, rates to Iceland Mobile are in the .59 Euro range -- the sticky says there is a .25 Euro setup charge but I can't find mention of that on their website. That would make it way more expensive than UM.

0044 (IOM) is on the order of .55 Euro to a UK Mobile, similar to TravelSIM

So far, it looks like only UM has a special subscriber to subscriber rate.

As for the high termination rates for Lichtenstein, Iceland, Estonia, etc -- I don't view it as a conspiracy, but rather somebody has to pay for the free incoming calls (i.e. TANSTAAFL). I see people here bragging how they've had a UM (or other) SIMs for years and still have the original credit. How is UM (or others) to recoup their costs? When (if?) there is a EU wide agreement on roaming charges I think the need for these international SIMs will decrease (assuming its a good agreement). I do realize that they are used lots of places outside the EU but I would hazard that the EU (or EU + EFTA) is a big chunk of their business.

andy · 13-07-2007, 17:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMadBrewer

As for the high termination rates for Lichtenstein, Iceland, Estonia, etc -- I don't view it as a conspiracy, but rather somebody has to pay for the free incoming calls (i.e. TANSTAAFL). I see people here bragging how they've had a UM (or other) SIMs for years and still have the original credit. How is UM (or others) to recoup their costs?

They get a proportion of the incoming call fees, but I really don't think they are behind the increases in the tariffs to these numbers

prion · 13-07-2007, 17:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy

They get a proportion of the incoming call fees, but I really don't think they are behind the increases in the tariffs to these numbers

The increase is obvious in the case of UM. Why do you say you do not think they are behind? Is it more rational that most carriers targeted UM for some reason and increased their rates?

MATHA531 · 13-07-2007, 18:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by prion

The increase is obvious in the case of UM. Why do you say you do not think they are behind? Is it more rational that most carriers targeted UM for some reason and increased their rates?

Frankly, I think that's one of the reasons. The existance of UM and the ability to make reasonably priced calls to it was an early stage in the fight against high roaming fees which was the bread and butter for many operators.

IMHO and in all due respect.

herkdrvr · **Cheap Calls to +423 -** 14-07-2007, 12:21

Just a note, my wife calls me on my UM number via 3uTelecom. It's $.109 US and is oddly cheaper then calling to a Travelsim # ($.169). Much better then using the regular land line, and even cheaper then Vonage. Go figure.

	(#1)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	11-07-2007, 16:06 To me, the rise in termination fees makes UM almost a no go these days. Also the CBW increase means it is more expensive to use CBW to call the USA or whatever then the naitive UM. Right now, to me, the best deal seems to be O9....cbw charges only 16¢/minute, I did have some issues with cbw with them this past couple of weeks but still am not aware what caused it so I wouldn't necessarily blame cbw. Enlinea lists its Iceland rate as 18¢/minute. Termination fees are a non issue if I use the pin2dest on cbw and I suppose getting a dedicated 800 number from them is the next step; call forwarding 800 services are expensive to Iceland and to Estonia too as is the fall back I had a lot of success with in the past. I used to call forward directly off my verizon landline and the termination fee to Liechtenstein used to be 1¢ (not a typo); it's now well over 30¢. Of course O9 doesn't have a roaming agreement in Switzerland. Also although rates to Estonia on cbw are listed as very low, I have never gotten a callback on an Estonian mobile and termination fees to Estonian mobiles are also very high. This whole business of the high termination fees to the international sims in Liechtenstein, Iceland and Estonia is very very fishy to me...smells like some sort of conspiracy quite frankly on the part of telcoms to discourage people from using them. Now what will happen when the eu roaming fees come into effect are anybody's guess. It's also interesting that both cbw and enlinea continue t have very high rates from UK mobiles. Now of course if in the UK, with Orange call abroad or Mobile World, it's a non issue as I get great rates. But using an Isle of Man sim outside the UK with cbw is not all that economical (although they have drastically lowered their rates to France and I believe Germany to half that of the UK)...hm conspiracy again? So to sum it up, probably today my best bet is O9 (although they're new voicemail system has gummed up things for me....I ended up with 48 calls in my voicemail on O9 caused by callbacks from enlinea and cbw and wonder if the lost of my O9 credit had something to do with it).

	(#2)
herkdrvr (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 50 Join Date: 20 Sep 2005 Country:	Sms? - 11-07-2007, 16:41 I've found in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium, the UM card works very well (very reliable). Can't speak to the costs as I only use it to call the US. However, I'm wondering if it would be better for you to use SMS between UM phones for staying in contact on those jaunts where you split up? Just a thought. I'm ditching my UM card shortly, after I get back from this trip and my Travelsim card arrives. I'll keep the UM card long enough to insure my Travelsim works better and costs less or the same. I've had serious problems with UM in Australia and moderate problems in China and the Emirates. Of course, it continues to not work in New Zealand, and I haven't figured out why. And the "help" side of UM is not really helpful. Never has been but if it's possible, it's gotten work. Good luck!

	(#3)
TheMadBrewer (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Fan Posts: 127 Join Date: 01 Jun 2005 Location: Marina del Rey, CA Country:	12-07-2007, 05:40 As for O9, rates to Iceland Mobile are in the .59 Euro range -- the sticky says there is a .25 Euro setup charge but I can't find mention of that on their website. That would make it way more expensive than UM. 0044 (IOM) is on the order of .55 Euro to a UK Mobile, similar to TravelSIM So far, it looks like only UM has a special subscriber to subscriber rate. As for the high termination rates for Lichtenstein, Iceland, Estonia, etc -- I don't view it as a conspiracy, but rather somebody has to pay for the free incoming calls (i.e. TANSTAAFL). I see people here bragging how they've had a UM (or other) SIMs for years and still have the original credit. How is UM (or others) to recoup their costs? When (if?) there is a EU wide agreement on roaming charges I think the need for these international SIMs will decrease (assuming its a good agreement). I do realize that they are used lots of places outside the EU but I would hazard that the EU (or EU + EFTA) is a big chunk of their business. Whole bunch of SIMs, mostly dead, some still working...

	(#7)
herkdrvr (Offline) Member Advanced Member Posts: 50 Join Date: 20 Sep 2005 Country:	Cheap Calls to +423 - 14-07-2007, 12:21 Just a note, my wife calls me on my UM number via 3uTelecom. It's $.109 US and is oddly cheaper then calling to a Travelsim # ($.169). Much better then using the regular land line, and even cheaper then Vonage. Go figure.