Saving on calls overseas

While planning for a July ’07 trip to Norway (July ’08, pg. 32), I was given a tip for making long-distance telephone calls.

The first time I called Norway, at 11:20 p.m., I was charged $12.18 for one minute. Then a friend told me to dial 10-10-987-011+ country code + phone number. When I did that, my bill was only $1.13 for 15 minutes — much more reasonable.

I wish I’d known of this pay-per-use service in March ’08 when I called a relative in Ontario, Canada, and exchanged a lot of genealogical information at a cost of $61.47. Those 42 minutes would have cost only $3.05 using the formula of six cents a minute plus a 53-cent connection fee, which is the rate for calling numbers in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe.

Unfortunately, this bargain from TelecomUSA (888/211-4422, www.1010987.com) is only for those calling from within the contiguous United States and Hawaii (not Alaska), and it must be done on a land line or fax; it will not work on a cell phone or public pay phone.

The rate for calling an Eastern European country varies, as does the rate for calling Oceania and other areas.

The charges should appear a month later on your regular phone bill, as most other telephone companies have a working agreement with TelecomUSA.

Actually, since then I have changed my telephone service to Time Warner (800/340-4308, www.timewarnercable.com), paying one flat monthly rate for phone and Internet connection. While their call rates are more expensive (calling Norway or Germany costs nine cents a minute using a land line, but it cost 24¢ a minute to reach a German cell phone and 29¢ a minute to call a cell phone in Norway), they offer a “bargain” of 3,000 overseas minutes a month for $19.95.

This International One Price program is good for calls to 100 countries’ land phones plus 15 countries’ land and cell phones.

I’ll continue to use 10-10-987 when I make my plans for next summer in Pomerania.

CAROLYN CASPERSON

Banning, CA