calling to the Ukraine

[lawman65]

I need some help from you veterans. I plan on calling to the Ukraine, and I need to know which service is good. I have been told that calling cards are the best and cheapest way. Which one?  What about international phone service from my home. Any suggestions will help.

[Albert]

I have been using phone cards to call Russia and Ukraine for past 5 years or so.

I have pretty much honed in on the deals found at:

www.phonecardonsale.com

I have been using the 'Compass' card for past year or so to call Ukraine.   Have also used the 'New Super Dial' and some others.

Compass is usually pretty realiable at around 11 cents per minute.  Yeah, sometimes it takes 3-4 attempts to get through, but that also will happen with the ATT card sometimes at 35 cents (or more) per minute.

[lawman65]

I forgot, what about hidden charges that get applied to your home service.

[Michelangelo]

I have tried many different services, and some are better than others.  The best is my ATT Wireless international add on to my cell phone -- it costs 26 cents a minute plus a samll monthly fee.  You just dial the number, and you have her

Many cards are bad.  You dial and you get silence.

Currently, I have settled on cards2phone.pushline.com

The connection is the best yet for me, and it costs about 11 cents per minute to a land phone, slightly more to a cell phone.  It works without putting in a pin each time you call her, and it automatically recharges when you drop under 10 dollars credit.

That's my experience...

[wxman]

I call my fiance frequently in the Ukraine. I have switched over to vonage after getting fed up with all the calling cards that never seem to work. I haven't had a problem with vonage, and 90% of the calls get through the first time and calls are very clear. Costs about $0.13 a minute.

[wxman]

Eventually, when high speed internet is available to her mother in Ukraine, I will get her mother a cheap computer, hook vonage up to the high speed internet, give her mom a US area code and number, and then all calls will be free using vonage's unlimited $24.99 domestic calling plan. Then my fiance can call her mother anytime she wants when she gets here, and talk to her hearts content. 

[Bruno]

If she have computer at home, why not use ICQ... it is free... for normal connection use only the voice option and if her connection is fast enough, you can make a video chat with voice...

In big city, some internet club are ready for use video chat...

[Michelangelo]

Bruno has a good point.  If the girl has a computer, ICQ is wonderful.  

I have used it a lot stateside for 5 years.  It gives you free voice dialogue and video, too.  But of course the phone is the best option for most girls, who do not have a computer at home....

[jb]

Lawman65,

You asked for advice from old timers at this endeavor, I think I qualify on several points.

I recommend: http://www.getpin.com
and:  http://www.mcctelco.com/Welcome.asp

We call Russia with crystal clear, unfailing quality, and the low price of about 2 cents per minute to Moscow.  We couple this service with Vonage broadband VoIP for even greater savings.

Anybody paying more than 10 or 12 cents a minute for calling any place in the FSU is getting ripped off.  Especially if your calls are not clear and connections are not realible.

[wxman]

If she have computer at home, why not use ICQ... it is free... for normal connection use only the voice option and if her connection is fast enough, you can make a video chat with voice...

In big city, some internet club are ready for use video chat...

My fiance does not have computer at home and will be moving here in a few months. I will be there in October and will set up a computer for her mom so she can chat anytime she wants. I will give the ICQ a try instead of Vonage for her. Thanks

[Michelangelo]

Anybody paying more than 10 or 12 cents a minute for calling any place in the FSU is getting ripped off.

Lawman, don't get too excited...I found calls to Ukraine to be much more expensive than calls to Moscow.  But JB is correct about the need to have a clear connection...it's tough enough to understand each other without the additional burden of static and voices with half the data missing!  I'd recommend trying out a lot of cards, one by one, to see what is best for you...

[jb]

Michael,

I just checked the rates to Ukraine for my Vonage phone, it's 12 cents/min for Kiev and 13 cents for Odessa.  That's just picking up the phone and dialing direct which gives the best calling quality, we do use a cheaper system like "get PIN" to further reduce our costs but 12 cents/min ain't bad when compared to AT&T's base rate.  My step son has a g/f from Kiev, so we do call Ukraine from time to time, but unless it's to that GD cell phone he has perpetually jammed in his ear, it's generally a rate much more attractive than 12 cent/min.

I've been hearing guys b!tch and moan about calling costs and line quality to Ukraine for the better part of 6 or 7 years now,,, well, that's just part and parcel of romancing a woman from Ukraine, it's kinda like tolerating the heat in the kitchen, you have to learn to deal with it.

[Michelangelo]

Thanks JB....is sounds like the same price I am paying but with better quality...consistently.  Sometimes I get a great connection with my 9 cent phone card, but sometimes it is terrible.  You get what you pay for...

[START2]

Lawman,  Ive called Ukr. for the past 2 or 3 years. Unfortunately I don't have access to a broadband on my pc. I'm stuck with dial up. Otherwise wxman is correct. I use calling cards and have tried many. For the past year I have been using PINGO. Runs about 11-12 cents /min. GETPIN is ok to but I prefer PINGO.  It's much cheaper to call Russia, something in the 2-4 cent range. But be prepared, there are times when the connection to UKr. can be pretty bad, especially on the weekends. I guess the lines get jammed there like it used to be here.