International communication has never been easier. With the rise of 3G and 4G phones, the Internet, and global roaming plans, phoning friends, family, and colleagues who are in other countries is now as easy as, well, picking up the phone.That is, of course, if you’re willing to pay the price. Some methods of calling numbers outside of the US can be incredibly expensive, and in particular, making international calls when you only have a regular calling and data package with a US cell phone provider can rack up hefty per-minute costs.However, with a little careful planning, you can avoid a large (and surprising) bill, and learn how to make cheap international calls – New York International is here to help! We’ve looked into the often confusing world of calling plans, calling credits, roaming charges, costs per minute, and everything in between to bring you our guide to international communication.Internet Calling ServicesFor calling from computers or Internet-enabled phones, these services are the obvious choice for cheap, easy-to-use, and non-committal communication.Skype. The established leader in this sector, Skype’s $0.01 per-minute rate for calls to landlines in over 170 countries is pretty attractive when you consider U.S. cell phone providers often charge $1.00 per minute or more (in the absence of an international calling plan, anyway).Using an iPhone or an Android through a Wi-Fi connection will ensure the best quality call, carried over a high-speed Internet connection at Skype’s rate. Just download the Skype mobile app from your phone’s app store and sign up for a free account. The system will work perfectly well through a 3G connection as well, running calls via a local number and on through the Internet, ensuring the price remains consistent. The same account will also work through your computer, with video chat available through a webcam.You can use many different countries’ currencies to buy Skype credits, which are only used for landline and mobile device calls — Skype-to-Skype calls remain free of charge.Fring. This application, which is free to download, offers video chat and regular calling through your device’s Wi-Fi connection and 3G capability at impressivelylow rates. It’s available for download from both the iPhone and Android app stores, though it’s not available for use on computers. Taking off where Skype began, Fring also offers affordable live texting and unlimited worldwide calling — as well as a group video chat feature, which is not offered by Skype’s mobile app as of yet.While free worldwide calling to other Fring members is attractive, what’s really impressive is that you can use Fring to connect to your Skype, Google Talk, or MSN Messenger contacts, removing the need to copy over international contacts.Tru. Known as Truphone when it first began, Tru has been a pioneer of charge-free roaming telecommunication. It now offers two distinct services. The first is the Tru app, which, similarly to Skype mobile and Fling, allows you to use your iPhone, Android phone, or computer to make low-rate calls using credits.The second is the newer Tru SIM (priced at $29.99), a global SIM that will work in any unlocked phone and allows you to call abroad at Tru’s reasonably priced global rates.International Calling PlansIf you’re established in the US and already signed up with a phone provider for a domestic plan, you may want to consider using its international calling option. Offering the freedom to call any number abroad and the ease of aligning the plan with your existing phone bill, many providers offer multiple plans to choose from, tailored to your level of usage.AT&T. With a range of calling plans available, AT&T tends to offer reasonable calling rates to over 220 countries. However, a number of fees can apply to calls, some of which are specific to individual US states. In particular, calls to mobile or wireless devices will incur a higher charge, a standard practice in the industry.AT&T’s Worldwide Occasional Calling plan carries a monthly fee of just $1.49, and it’s a great option in that it provides the same country-specific per-minute rates at any time of day. Its Worldwide Value Calling plan carries a higher monthly charge of $5 per month, but it may offer lower per-minute rates depending on the country you call.Verizon. Verizon’s standard international plan reaches to over 230 countries with rates $0.20 per minute. Its International Long Distance plan offers discounted rates as low as $0.01 per minute with a $5 monthly fee. It also has two International Calling Bundles which feature 1,000 shared international calling mimutes. Virgin Mobile. Currently, Virgin doesn’t offer a separate international calling plan for its US users, though depending on where you’re calling, its per-minute rates can be reasonable. Calls to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are included in Virgin Mobile’s standard airtime rates. For all other countries you just need to activate the international calling capability of your phone, and dial using the country’s international calling code. You can also have international add-ons with unlimited calls to Mexico and Canada or to over 70 countries.T-Mobile. T-Mobile’s international calling plan is $15 per month — far more than some of the competitors’ plans. It does offer unlimited texting to over 200 countries if you have an existing unlimited domestic text messaging plan or add a Stateside International Talk. However, you can use your existing plan’s minutes for voice calls to only about 50 countries, which is a pretty low number compared to some of the competitors (Verizon reaches more than 200).For $5 per month, it offers “discounted calling” rates — some of which may be a bargain, depending on where you’re calling (its full list of international per-minute rates shows just how much of a cost difference there is between certain countries). Additional No Annual Contract plans allow unlimited calls to landlines in over 70+ countries for $10 per month, with calls to another 150 countries at a discounted per-minute rate.Sprint. There are a couple of good options available from Sprint. One is theInternational Long Distance and Text Add-On, which allows you to use your “anytime” minutes on calls to selected countries for $15 per month (plus taxes and administrative fees). For $5 per month, the Long Distance Add-On provides calling alone (no texting), with average calling rates to Mexico and Canada under $0.01 per minute.
International Calling CardsFor those without a provider or an Internet-connected device, the standard way to phone another country at a discounted rate is through a pre-paid, often rechargeable calling card. These cards allow you access to special country-by-country per-minute rates via a landline or cell phone, and they remove the worry of racking up high bills simply by phoning home.Callingcards.com offers price comparisons by country, and it will e-mail your access PIN directly to you. Prices are often reasonable, at around $0.01 or $0.02 per minute for calls to many countries, rounded up by three-minute intervals.AT&T also offers a Virtual PrePaid Phone Card, starting at $30 for Worldwide Calling to over 20 countries. Rates vary, so do check, but calls to France, Hong Kong, China, and Singapore enjoy an especially low rate of $0.05 per minute, and calling to Mexico is just $0.06 per minute.There’s almost an unlimited number of calling cards available, so it’s worth shopping around. Websites such as Zaptel offer a range of cards to buy, complete with users guides and reviews to help your decision. Consumer Reports also has an informative review of the dangers and pitfalls to watch out for, reminding us that “the high fees and expiration dates associated with prepaid phone cards aren’t illegal, as long as they’re disclosed.”Research, in the end, is key.Article updated November 2014.