Phoning home from Shanghai

Going to Shanghai for a week at New Year. Any ideas on the cheapest way to
phone home would be appreciated. I am on O2 in the UK if that matters.

Thanks Neil

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Your name <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Going to Shanghai for a week at New Year. Any ideas on the
> cheapest way to
> phone home would be appreciated. I am on O2 in the UK if that
> matters.

Reverse charge call


KK

On 2008-10-07, Your name <[email protected]> wrote:
> Going to Shanghai for a week at New Year. Any ideas on the cheapest way to
> phone home would be appreciated. I am on O2 in the UK if that matters.

What is "cheapest" may depend on what you've got available. If there's
Internet service where you are staying that doesn't cost too much, a
VoIP client or Skype on a laptop might end up being the minimum cost
option.

If you want to use a mobile phone, however, local PAYG service in China
is fairly inexpensive. The only catch I know is that China mobile companies
charge extra for in-country roaming, so if you are staying in Shanghai the
service will generally be cheaper if you can get a Shanghai-local SIM.
If you buy a SIM from the Internet before you go you might want to be aware
of this so you aren't confused about how much you'll be charged. If you
wait until you get there there are shops selling SIMs all over, but if
you don't speak Chinese and haven't got someone to help with the purchase
you might want to look for a shop in the airport to maximize the chance
of finding a clerk who speaks some English.

As for calling the UK with a mobile, Rebtel has local Shanghai landline
numbers for dial-through international calls at decent rates and I
suspect they aren't the only company which does this. I like Rebtel,
though, since they also provide local UK landline numbers for your
contacts in the UK to call you back, which can be convenient for
contacts and often save money when you want to talk to someone with
a UK mobile.

I wouldn't roam with a foreign mobile in China except as a last resort.
While local PAYG SIMs are fairly inexpensive, roaming rates in China
seem to be usurious.

Dennis Ferguson