Telephone & Fax for Expatriates
Area Codes - Callback - Cell Phones - Fax
Internet Telephone (VOIP) - Phone Cards
SMS - Video Conferencing
Expatriates treasure good communications, with friends and family back home and with other expats within their host country—or countries past and future. The only thing better than good communications is cheap good communications. We've gathered some of the best information and services here.
Area Codes
Fone FinderFind country by phone number, and USA/Canadian numbers by area code/prefix or city
How to call from country to country
Step-by-step directions
International Country Codes
Also lists dialing prefixes
International Phone Codes
By country
Callback
Calls from the U.S. are a lot cheaper than calls to the U.S. With Callback you call a U.S. number from another country and hang up after the first ring so there is no charge. You are called back at your non-U.S. number, and you enter your destination number, which can be anywhere in the world. You then pay for the call at U.S. rates.BestCallback.net
U.S. phone line "delivered" to your phone in 250 countries. Billed in six-second increments. Change callback number by web or phone at your convenience
Callback World
International callback service. Also offers third-party calls relayed to you at any phone in the world.
Global Phone
Instant call center for businesses. Customers click on your web site to call you. You pay low international rates. No toll-free number needed. Takes only minutes to set up
Unitec
Call anywhere from anywhere at U.S. rates. Plus an optional international calling card.
Cell Phones
International cell phone service. To use your own cell phone in a country other than the U.S., it will have to be a "tri-band GSM" phone. If you don't have a GMS phone, you can rent one either before you leave or in your destination country.Global Phone
Low cost international calls from your cell phone. Six-second increments (with initial increment of 30 seconds), billed monthly. Includes card that lets you call from any phone in 80 countries. No contracts, prepayment, connection charges or monthly fees. Conference calls with up to 16 people
Gorilla Mobile
International calls from your own U.S. cell or home phone to more than 175 countries. No monthly fee, small annual fee, low international rates. Requires that you already have a standard cell phone carrier. If toll free access number is used, a small connection fee is charged. One-minute increments, billed monthly.
GSM Phone Networks
GSM coverage maps and roaming information in more than 220 countries
GSM Phone Unlocking
Unlock your cell phone FAQ. How and why to do it.
LetsTalk.com
One-stop shopping for cell phones and service plans with very helpful user reviews and other information.
PlanetFone
International GSM cell phone rental. Make and receive calls in more than 150 countries. Includes voice mail. Weekly rates plus airtime charges. No minimum airtime, surcharges or connect fees. Connectable to laptop
Telestial
International cell phone service with prepaid SIM cards. Over 250 carriers in 130 countries. Pay the local rate for local calls in countries you visit, free incoming calls worldwide. Six-second increments. No activation, connection or monthly charges. Voice mail. Conference calls up to 24 people. Also sell international GSM phones and sell/rent satellite phones
World Grounding Adaptor Plug Set
Ten different grounding adaptor plugs. Everything you'll need no matter where you travel
World Mobile Phone Guide
Worldwide phone standards and mobile phones
Fax
Fax1.comWorldwide fax network offers fax to email, email/Web to fax, and fax broadcasting. Pay only for pages delivered. No monthly or signup fees
Faxaway
Email to fax and fax broadcasting. Free inbound fax and voicemail to email. Internet fax and voicemail
The Phone Company
Volunteer network for free web and email faxing to many countries. Because it's a free, volunteer effort, there is no guarantee that your fax will actually get through but you should be notified if it doesn't
Internet Telephone (VOIP)
Use your computer to make phone calls around the world at low-cost rates—or even free—using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). Choose the company that offers the best plan for your purposes. Remember that if your power or Internet connection go down, so does your phone service.CNET Editors Guide to VOIP
Video tutorials and information about VOIP
Test Your VOIP
Test your potential Internet phone quality
VOIP-Info
For the geek. Links to many VOIP companies
Broadvox Direct
Use your standard telephone with an Internet adapter. Three-way conference calling. Free virtual second number. From U.S. only
Crystal Voice Live
Headset, regular phone or Internet phone. Call PCs or regular phones. $19.95/year. Free calls to CVL users, low rates to others, worldwide. Works with dial-up and broadband. Three-way conferencing. Windows
Net2Phone
From your PC to other PCs or regular phones. Call anywhere in the world, from anywhere in the world. Choose a U.S. or U.K. phone number. Voice or fax. Monthly plan members call free to other Net2Phone users. Headset, regular phone, Internet phone. Windows
SightSpeed
Person-to-person video communication worldwide with your computer and an Internet connection. Very high-quality 30 frames/second with broadband, lower quality with dial-up. Multi-party video calls. Low monthly rate allows unlimited use. Also free worldwide audio calls. Windows, Macintosh and Linux
Voiceglo
Make phone calls to, or from, anywhere in the world. Talk free to other Voiceglo users. Low international rates. Call, or receive calls from, regular landline and wireless phone users. Works with dial-up as well as broadband connection. Conference calls of up to six people can be linked to other groups of callers to create an even larger combined group. Use a headset, or regular or Internet phone
Vonage
Free calls to other Vonage users. Low international rates. Fax lines, toll-free and virtual numbers availably for monthly charge. No connection charge. Three-way conferencing.
WebPhone
User your computer (and headset) to call any phone worldwide, with prepaid service by the minute. Windows only.
Free Services
Require headset or Internet phone.
Free World Dialup
Dial free to other FWD and Internet phone users around the world. PC, Mac and Linux
Skype
Dial free to other Skype users worldwide, and make cheap calls to those who don't. Conference calls for up to five people. Windows, Mac, Linux, Pocket PC.
Phone Cards
Prepaid phone cards can be plastic or "virtual" (print out from your computer). The per-minute rate does not include other possible fees you may incur. Cards with per-minute charges of under 10 cents are generally good value. Less is better, assuming the cards are "clean", that is no surcharges, connection, activation, access or other hidden fees. (A payphone surcharge of at least 24 cents per call is normal in the U.S.). It's best if the service charges you in increments of one minute or less. Increments can be as little as 6 seconds, or as much as 6 minutes.The card should have a toll-free customer service number. If possible, try calling it before you buy the card to make sure it's not busy. Make sure the card comes in a sealed envelope or has a sticker covering the PIN. Otherwise, anyone who copies the PIN can use the phone time you've paid for. Rechargeable cards allow you to buy more minutes, so you don't waste any time credit remaining on a card. Pay attention to any expiration date and make sure you are charged only for completed calls.
Cards can be used with cell phones as well as landline phones. You will still be charged for cellular airtime as if it were a local call. You can also make calls to cell phones, usually at a considerably higher rate.
Ask friends and relatives for recommendations based on their own experience. Consider buying a small denomination card first to make sure that you like the service. You can also find cards with good rates at warehouse stores such as Costco, PriceClub, PriceSmart and Sam's Club. Check the services below to determine the best card for your location and usage.
CallingCards.com
Low cost virtual calling cards from a number of services; many rechargeable. Call nearly 200 countries, with over 100 countries 3 cents and under. Search results show rating and full details; sort results by price, minutes, card name or connection fee. Most cards charge in one-minute increments in U.S. and up to three-minute increments internationally.
BestCallback.net
International Travel Card lets you call anywhere from more than 30 major industrial countries. 6 second increments
Global Phone
Low cost international calls in the U.S. and 80 countries. Six-second increments (with initial increment of 30 seconds), billed monthly. No contracts, prepayment, connection charges or monthly fees. Conference calls with up to 16 people
Unitec
Use this card to call from any phone in over 150 countries. Charge in six-second increments and only for completed calls. No call surcharge. Rechargeable.
ZapTel.com
One-stop shopping for virtual phone cards from a number of different services. Search for best rates for a particular country; results show recommended cards with user ratings, rate comparisons and full details including carrier and fees. Call any country from the U.S. and from nearly 100 countries to the U.S.. Site has good explanations of phone card usage and considerations. Many cards rechargeable
SMS (Short Message Service)
Ipipi.comSend text messages to phones worldwide
Video Conferencing
SightSpeedPerson-to-person video communication worldwide with your computer and an Internet connection. Very high-quality 30 frames/second with broadband, lower quality with dial-up. Multi-party video calls. Low monthly rate allows unlimited use. Also free worldwide audio calls. Windows, Macintosh and Linux.