Best Uk prepaid for international calls

[prion]

I was wondering if someone can tell me which UK prepaid sim has the best rates for international calls. Is it Orange?

[mrbarlow]

Orange does have a "Call Abroad" pre-pay SIM and some of the rates are quite good, but there seems to be a limited number of countries mentioned. Whether these are the only countries you can call or are the only ones with a "special" rate, I don't know. It might be worth considering if the country (or countries) you're planning to call are on the list.

I couldn't tell you what the other pre-paid SIMs are like for overseas calls but the UK being what it is I doubt any of them are particularly cheap! By all means check out all the operators (and MVNOs) but you're probably better off using something like Jajah to make calls.

Edit:
Have just looked at Mobile World (MVNO owned by Carphonewarehouse) and that seems to have some reasonable rates for overseas calls...

[prion]

Thanks for the reply. I am interested for Greece. Another question. What are the rates for calling 0844& 0871 calls using uk prepaid sims?

[mrbarlow]

I suppose this may depend on the SIM, but generally these can be quite expensive to call (stupid, I know). Without looking I would say that they would be at least as expensive (if not far more so) than normal geographic landline numbers.

The reason I say this is because even with postpaid contract arrangements these numbers are never included in the bundles of minutes you have. This is probably because the network operators are aware that people want to call them for call-through services etc

Take a look and see what's about - happy to help in any way I can

[prion]

Ok Thanks. Another question. Any idea on expiration dates for vodafone prepaid, virgin mobile prepaid and o2 prepaid? I mean how long after your last call/topup is the card valid?

[andy]

Most UK SIMs are valid for 180 days after the last incoming or outgoing call; Mobile World is 90 days, and Virgin is reputed to be lenient and last longer, maybe a year

A couple of corrections of above - there are callthrough numbers available on some contracts, and some for prepay as well. O2 no longer includes 0844, 0845, and 0870 on the inclusive bundles on prepay, now only on contracts. 07744 is usable on Orange T-mobile and Virgin contract inclusive minutes

However, I think that the 07744 numbers could well be 12 pence a minute on T-mobile, but I haven't actually checked it yet. They were 15 p on easyMobile, and Fresh seems to be that rate as well. Some 07744 providers can reach several European mobiles daytime in the week, and landlines all the time. 0844 and 0871 cost 15p a minute on Virgin, but 0871 can be 35p on some networks

For landlines from prepay, O2's International option means 7p a minute for most of Europe, Mobile World is also 7p, Orange Call Abroad has some destinations but not enough of a range, though USA is 5p. And T-mobile has a bundle of 4p/min calls to USA. Why do I mention USA? - there are a number of firms with callthrough numbers for about 50 countries; the trouble is when they are busy you might be queueing for an outgoing line.

Someone who intends a lot of use might go for 3's international calls option. £15 buys a month's worth of calls, up to 3000 minutes

A couple of other possibilities. You might try getting a Call18185 account which could be used via a London callthrough (I don't know if they accept foreign credit cards; sister companies here and abroad told me yes 4, no 1)

Or you might try ReturnCall - 5 pence a minute at the moment, but might go up a bit. So far my experience is mixed; sometimes there is no callback, but late at night has always worked, so I wonder if it is already too busy at times.

Overall, I'd probably suggest O2 Int'l option or Mobile World's 7p rates for European landlines have the edge over messing about with callback for a 5p rate that might increase.

[prion]

Thanks Andy for your post. If you send a text message or topup does this generally extend the validity of the card?

[andy]

A top-up would extend it, and I assume sending a message should; I wonder if receiving one is good enough

[Malkav]

most uk networks say they only accept 'chargable calls' to keep an accoung going, a unanswered call does not count, though i could be wrong!

[Bossman]

Actually any "chargable activity" exteds the life of the card. So, a simple GPRS usage will also do. And, that will even cost less than sending an sms.