[Idyllchat] prepaid phone cards in Italy?

[Powen Shiah]

The five-digit numbers are not Skype.  They have become common in
Germany, as Sonny said, due to competition in long-distance providers.

They are often very cheap (1 or 2 euro cents per minute, or even free
when there is a special, but rates do vary), but you can only use them
on land-lines, and not all of them at that -- only those by the
Deutsche Telekom.  The person paying the phone bill then sees the
charges itemized.

Skype is a horse of a completely different color.  It requires a
computer, internet connection, a microphone, and the Skype software on
the computer.  While it does have very competitive rates, you would
definitely know if you were using Skype.  For those of you who may be
interested in it, you can look at the website www.skype.com .

Also, perhaps we should distinguish between the different types of
"phone cards" that are available.  In the United States, the only type
of phone cards we have are those with access numbers and pin codes --
you dial the phone card's access number (often toll free), enter your
pin, and then call the number you want to reach.

In Germany, as well as some other European countries, there are phone
cards that are only for use in public telephones / telephone booths.
They will have a smart chip visibly embedded in the plastic, and you
must insert them into the pay phone when you want to make a phone
call.  These are useful when you don't want to carry a lot of change
or when the payphones have been updated to only accept these cards.
However, the rates for international calling on these cards are not
competitive at all -- you can pay anywhere from 50 cents to 1 euro a
minute (I'm not certain what the rate is anymore) to call the US.

There may be more variations, but these are the different types of
phone service that I've used in my travels abroad for the most part.

Hope this has been helpful,

Powen Shiah
Untours.com

On 9/11/06, Sonny Culverhouse <eac at rev.net> wrote:
> When we were at Bavarian Castle Untours this June, they had a five-digit
> number that one dials first (on a regular phone, not cell), and then the
> regular numbers you dial for calling the U.S.  The cost?  2 cents a minute,
> and it worked perfectly.  Someone on here said, after I had posted it, that
> it was skyhe phone........or something like that; the spelling of that is
> obviously incorrect, but you no doubt have heard of it.  The reason it's so
> inexpensive is, according with untours hosts, is the competition in
> Europe.  You may want to check it out and see if it's operable where you're
> going; our calls were as loud and clear as though it was next door.
> ........sonny in Virginia
>
>
> At 06:32 PM 9/10/2006 -0400, Russ Crum wrote:
> >Does anyone have experience using US prepaid phone cards in Italy?
> >Specifically MCI? I know the card gives the instructions and the MCI
> >web site has the local access phone numbers.  Four years ago when we
> >were with a group in Italy, I recall one person who had a US phone
> >card and could never get it to work to call back to the US. I don't
> >know the particulars as to whether it was prepaid, regular card, or
> >whether the person even knew how to use it.
> >
> >I think Rick Steves recommends purchasing local phone cards for use
> >there, even for international calls. I don't know if that is because
> >of problems using US issued ones, or just a suggestion if you don't
> >already have a phone card.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >
> >Russ Crum
> >rrcrum at sbcglobal.net
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Powen Shiah
powen.shiah at untours.com
1.888.868.6871
1.610.565.5142 (fax)
www.untours.com

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