Best Phone Call Rates - US to Russian Federation

[Jersey Guy]

I was wondering what most people on this board uses to call the FSU. I have searched on the forums but I haven't really found anything. A young local Russian I girl I know told me about Allo Russia and I have been using it since January. The rates vary from 1.4 cents per min for land line to Moscow to 2.9 cents for the rest of Russia. For a mobile to mobile call the rate is 5.9 cents. I was wondering if anybody has found anything better.
http://www.allorussia.com/rates?country=Russia&currency=USD

[GoodOlBoy]

http://www.nobelcom.com/
 
Google "Nobel.com" for coupons and discount codes.

For example: http://www.retailmenot.com/view/nobelcom.com
 
GOB

[Vaughn]

There are scads of overseas calling cards available. For many years we've been using a card by uniontelecard (dot) com that is very fee-free. It was designed for calls to India but also offers pretty good rates to Non-Moscow areas of Russia. When we get low on minutes we recharge quickly online, saving new PIN memorization. There's a toll-free number to access the system, but using available local numbers enhances your per-minute rate. Have you two considered going Skype ?
 
http://www.uniontelecard.com/phonecards/2064/bharat/

[Vaughn]

Hey Jersey Guy, I just noticed in the fine print that if you're a NJ resident you will be charged sales tax upon purchase.

[newjason]

JerseyGuy,
I  did the long distance call thing too when you know who went back to you know where and I did search high and low and the on-line store uniontelecard was the place i spent the most money and got the cheapest rates. the link vaughn posted.

There are scads of overseas calling cards available. For many years we've been using a card by uniontelecard (dot) com that is very fee-free. It was designed for calls to India but also offers pretty good rates to Non-Moscow areas of Russia. When we get low on minutes we recharge quickly online, saving new PIN memorization. There's a toll-free number to access the system, but using available local numbers enhances your per-minute rate. Have you two considered going Skype ?
 
http://www.uniontelecard.com/phonecards/2064/bharat/

With that said, You are going to find, with discount calling you will get discount quality and discount service in return.  These cards are best used if you have a lot of patience and a lot of time to be dialing numbers over and over.  and it's a lot of numbers.

Typical call:  first the access number , wait , then  Pin Number  , wait , then  number you are calling..
 example  string of numbers to dial to call FSU

1800 440 0383   wait   960 136 6686  wait   011 380 951 989 659

If you can do all that correctly with making a mistake, the majority of the time,  you get disconnected, a wrong number, or a ring that doesn't ring on her end.  That just used up 3 min, and yes they say no access fee, but there are connection fees, dialing fees, all kinds of fees.

Still, if you can make them work, I was averaging about  40 minutes on a $5 card.
Buy them in small amounts and use the whole thing at once, that way you get the most minutes. Each card is designed for a single call, so if you try multiple calls with one card, it eats up your minutes a lot fatter.

Toward the end , I was so frustrated with this hassle I just used my mobile phone and dialled direct. Guess What?  The quality was superb and I would swear she was in the next room and I was shocked.
When I found out that BOOST was only charging me 10 cents a min for direct dialling, I was so happy ..
with boost, not with her.

If you want to take a shot at calling cards, I can write you a template for your phone of how to pre enter the calling strings, including the stops and waits needed between dialing strings. Let me know and I will post it her if you like.
I recommend Boost mobile, unlimited 50$/mo  gives unlimited text, talk, web, and , PTT.  Calls to the FSU are about 10 cents / min  and are not unlimited, but are pretty cheap.

[noelscot]

I was wondering what most people on this board uses to call the FSU. I have searched on the forums but I haven't really found anything. A young local Russian I girl I know told me about Allo Russia and I have been using it since January. The rates vary from 1.4 cents per min for land line to Moscow to 2.9 cents for the rest of Russia. For a mobile to mobile call the rate is 5.9 cents. I was wondering if anybody has found anything better.
http://www.allorussia.com/rates?country=Russia&currency=USD

Hey, someone on here who has detailed knowledge, experience with Magic Jack, how about telling your experience.

My understanding is that a person can buy a magic jack, register it in the U.S., then mail it to their foreign friend and then that foreign friend can call the US for free and it appears on caller ID as the American number registered with that Magic Jack account. Vonage has also been mentioned on here previously.

Perhaps these VOIP have less nonsense and are more economical than the old-school calling cards. Of course, skype-to-skype is good if both parties have a computer.

These countries block VOIP: http://provpnaccounts.com/List_of_countries_which_block_website_content_VOIP_Skype_including_countries_China_UAE_Oman_Syria_Turkey_Malaysia_and_the_continents_of_Asia_Caribbean_Africa_North_America_Europe_and_the_Middle_East-124-articles

Magic Jack:



How to Install the Magic Jack:




 
 
 
 

[Jersey Guy]

Hey Jersey Guy, I just noticed in the fine print that if you're a NJ resident you will be charged sales tax upon purchase.

That's interesting. I just recharge my account online in $20 increments. I don't think that NJ has a way to collect a tax. We talk about 30 to 40 min everyday and at least an hour on weekends. The $20 lasts about a week.

I'm not really into that phone card thing. Now I only have to push 2 buttons to make the call.

Yes we have tried skype on phone to phone only. It's a long story but she has a company issued phone and computer. Her only other option is her 15 yr old son's computer. She doesn't like that option.
She is comfprtable with our current schedule. I call her at noon my time and she is almost always cooking dinner at that time. She clips the phone to her and uses earphones while we talk.

@noelscot
I like that idea. I will have to look into it further. She is a very smart girl but not real tech savy. I might have to work on that one.

[noelscot]

@noelscot
I like that idea. I will have to look into it further. She is a very smart girl but not real tech savy. I might have to work on that one.

Hey man, i forgot to ask. are these phone cards so that she can call *you* or so that you can call *her*? as for installation, tell her you will make a special visit to install it...and meet her family!


If you have an iPhone or a Droid phone from Verizon, get the Skype app on your mobile.


also look for an app called "friend caller." http://www.friendcaller.com/ if she has a smart phone like an iPhone, she could use that app to call you for free.
 
maybe purchase a monthly fee plan from skype called "unlimited cities" (landlines only) or just use skype credits. unfortunately for you, you are calling Ukraine and there is not an "unlimited Ukraine" monthly fee plan like there is for Russia with skype. maybe find a gal in Russia. lol. just kidding. Tracfone is only an option for Russia. Ukraine sort of sucks when it comes to calling. stone age calling cards and skype might be the best bet. either way, this is gonna be like the death of a thousand cuts on your phone bills. all you can do is minimize it and hope the gal will work with you and have concerns about your pocket book.


i'm pretty much out of ideas now. Magic Jack is good. Skype-to-Skype is ideal. phone cards are the least worst option i suppose. maybe learn telepathy. good luck, man.   

[Daveman]

Magic jack works fine if the internet if fast enough.   It does drop calls more frequently than Skype.  You need to send her a phone as well because their phone jacks are wired a little differently.  Well, at least they have different modular plugs.  Probably work on the same Tip/Ring principle as the land lines here but the voltages may differ. I don't know.


Since the Magic Jack needs a computer with a USB port attached (magic jack or magic jack plus) to the internet, or an ethernet port on a switch or router (magic jack plus),  she pretty much has to have the same equipment that would run Skype AND be at her computer (though she could take it with her to friend's house or anywhere that fast enough internet is available).  Skype's plus is that it is more stable.  The plus for the magic jack is that you could call each other when you are away from your computer, say on your cell, and you'd only be charged the rate of your plan for normal incoming calls. 


Yep, caller ID shows a local number. 

[Faux Pas]

Magic jack works fine if the internet if fast enough.   It does drop calls more frequently than Skype.  You need to send her a phone as well because their phone jacks are wired a little differently.  Well, at least they have different modular plugs.  Probably work on the same Tip/Ring principle as the land lines here but the voltages may differ. I don't know.

We encountered this problem trying to set up something for my wife and her mother a year or so ago. Reasonably priced internet in her Mother's city is $35-40 a month and wasn't fast enough for a magicjack connection. Literally, it was more frustrating with the interruptions "stop/go and drops than it was worth. The connection speed was IIRC about 100kbs. Magicjack may have improved but the connection speed hasn't.

Anyway, Skype was much better than magicjack and free but, the wife opened a monthly Skpe pay account as well. $10-12 bucks a month that is virtually trouble free.

[Jersey Guy]

@vaughn
I have not been charged a NJ sales tax yet. I buy the credits on line and I get use of the full amount. I suppose if NJ found out they would try to charge me.

@noelscot
I have never used a phone card and I have never bought one for her.  From what I have heard so far is that the use of them is cumbersome and the 5.9 cents per minute for cell to cell is not too bad.  She is not in the Ukraine she is in Russia. She lives in the Volga region in Saratov.
I have an iphone4 and she has a company issued LG smartphone, probably the Russian version of a Droid. Like I said the Skype thing is a long story. Yes we both have the Skype app on our phones that we tried early on back in February and March after our Jamaica trip. It worked well for me but she said every time on Skype the sound came in through her speakerphone and she did not have a button or selection to change it to the microphone.  She did not like that.  She logged off of Skype in March and never went back on. When she was here in April / May I suggested that we try Skype here to see if I can find her problem. She could not remember her sign on information. She will not use Skype on a computer because she cannot install 3rd party software on her company notebook computer. She will not use her son's computer for Skype. She does not sit down and have a conversation when we talk. At the time I call she is usually cooking and she has become comfortable with her phone in her pocket or clipped on to her  with her earphones on while we talk. It was actually funny one time when we were talking we lost the connection which is not unusual . I tried to call her back as usual when we lose the connection. After the second attempt we connected and I said just another lost connection, she said no my phone lost all energy. I said OK now you  have your phone plugged into a wall and you cannot get things done while we talk. I said very good now we can talk with your full attention. She said no...no...not good I have things to get done. We still talked for about 40 minutes and she just laid down and relaxed for a change while we talked. Next month when we see each other she will have her Skype info and we will try it here again.