International Calling Cards Question

goldenyogi · Oct 14th, 2005, 19:30

Wow, there are a lot of great threads about cell phones which I've been reading up on... and still I haven't found the answer to my question. Amazing as this may sound, the truth is, I don't have a cell phone (well, I do, but it's my husband's work phone which we share.) I know that sounds crazy in this day and age, but it's worked for us and saved us lots of money!

so that leads me to my question. I will be in Chennai and areas along the south east coast for about 5 weeks. I'd like to be able to make maybe 2 - 5 calls to France to check in with my husband, also in case of emergency, just a good idea for me to know how to make contact with my "real" life. I guess I might need to make occasional local calls, but I don't really know why...

Does anyone have any info about international calling cards, how and where I could use them? Can I buy these in India for use at their public phone stalls? Can I buy in advance? Or, do I need to get a cell phone with these prepaid SIM cards everyone on this site is talking about?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Nick-H · Oct 14th, 2005, 19:39

Just use a public telephone or an i-Way internet centre and pay as you go: it is very cheap compared to UK phone charges. IIRC the call back to UK will cost about Rs7 a minute, or as low as Rs3 a minute from an i-Way internet cafe.

You can get BSNL (telephone company) cards, but they don't reduce the cost, just allow you to use someone else's phone with the charge to your card.

For just four or five calls ---just pay as you phone. You may even find that using your hotel room phone is perfectly affordable, if they allow international calls.

crvlvr · Oct 15th, 2005, 00:14

As Nick has suggested you will see a lot of phone booths with the signs STD/ISD. You can make international call from the ones marked ISD.

Sama · Oct 25th, 2005, 21:10

I feel better having my own phone with me, so next time I go, I'm taking my own phone that can take different SIM cards (will be buying an unlocked quad band shortly). The phone I had this time was a rental GSM and the charges were outrageous!

Oct 14th, 2005, 19:30	#1
goldenyogi Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Paris, France Posts: 27	International Calling Cards Question Wow, there are a lot of great threads about cell phones which I've been reading up on... and still I haven't found the answer to my question. Amazing as this may sound, the truth is, I don't have a cell phone (well, I do, but it's my husband's work phone which we share.) I know that sounds crazy in this day and age, but it's worked for us and saved us lots of money! so that leads me to my question. I will be in Chennai and areas along the south east coast for about 5 weeks. I'd like to be able to make maybe 2 - 5 calls to France to check in with my husband, also in case of emergency, just a good idea for me to know how to make contact with my "real" life. I guess I might need to make occasional local calls, but I don't really know why... Does anyone have any info about international calling cards, how and where I could use them? Can I buy these in India for use at their public phone stalls? Can I buy in advance? Or, do I need to get a cell phone with these prepaid SIM cards everyone on this site is talking about? Thanks in advance for your response.

Oct 25th, 2005, 21:10	#4
Sama a pain in the asana Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: the India inside my heart Posts: 6,432	I feel better having my own phone with me, so next time I go, I'm taking my own phone that can take different SIM cards (will be buying an unlocked quad band shortly). The phone I had this time was a rental GSM and the charges were outrageous! __________________ *MY INDIA, 2005-2008* "Once you have felt the Indian dust, you will never be free of it." (Rumer Godden, 1975)

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Oct 14th, 2005, 19:39	#2
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,213	Just use a public telephone or an i-Way internet centre and pay as you go: it is very cheap compared to UK phone charges. IIRC the call back to UK will cost about Rs7 a minute, or as low as Rs3 a minute from an i-Way internet cafe. You can get BSNL (telephone company) cards, but they don't reduce the cost, just allow you to use someone else's phone with the charge to your card. For just four or five calls ---just pay as you phone. You may even find that using your hotel room phone is perfectly affordable, if they allow international calls.

Oct 15th, 2005, 00:14	#3
crvlvr Guru Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Hollywood Posts: 4,668	As Nick has suggested you will see a lot of phone booths with the signs STD/ISD. You can make international call from the ones marked ISD.