Calling US numbers at local rates from India?

Question

I heard from my relatives that they are able to call US numbers at local call rates with the help of a special gadget that their son bought them. Since they aren't much technical, I couldn't ask for more info and I presume they are talking about VOIP/Skype phones.

Is there any way that you can call a US number from India at local call rate (may be 1 Re per min or so) using a VOIP phone without any service providers? Also how much does Skype charge for this service? Is this service available across India or only in select states?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Yogaesh

Answer 1

most of my Indian friends send their families the MagicJack.....I have one too and love it!!!

http://magicjack.com/site/index.html

Answer 2

Maybe u should try out the Cordia VOIP Magellan plan at http://www.magnumbers.com/ . Cordia VOIP Magellan plan enable callers to dial the Magellan number that they provided to u and reach u on the landline or mobile phone wherever you are in the world with their local rates.

Or u can try out Cordia VOIP other plans at https://www.cordiaip.com/  

They are running a promotion right now where u can enjoy the first month free for all Cordia VOIP plans. The promotion code is AGLEEX182X. But if u forgot to enter this code, u will not enjoy the first month free.

Cordia VoIP or broadband phone service can help save customers up to 65 percent of their monthly phone bill. In addition, Cordia offers more than 25 international calling plans along with the ability to choose international phone numbers from more than 300 cities in more than 40 countries.

Good luck.

Answer 3

http://magicjack.com

get one of these... skype call quality is very poor...

Answer 4

For years now I have used Skype on my PC to call family in USA from Canada (where I now live).... and it works great!

For a while, I also had a Skype number in New Mexico and Charlotte, NC area codes.  Family could call me from those area codes for free (because I was paying for the Skype area phone number).  But of course I had to receive the calls on my PC.  It is possible to have your Skype calls forwarded to you local area PTSN phone number, but forwarding is charged at normal CallOut rates.

This past year I was subscribed to Skype Unlimited USA/Canada for $30/year of unlimited calling anywhere in USA/Canada - doesn't matter from where you call from.  They now call it SkypePro and costs $36/year for unlimited calling.

Linksys sells a Skype telephone adapter and cordless phone combo that is preconfigured with Skype service and connects directly to your Internet Router.  It's called the CIT-400 Skype Phone.  You do not need to have PC turned on to use the CIT-400 Skype phone.  I don't have one, but if I had the extra cash, I would get it.

If people have problems with Skype, it is usually because their Router/Firewall isn't set correctly to open the ports required for best Skype operation.  That is a network configuration problem, not a Skype problem.

Skype has over 10 million users - daily.  If it were as bad as I see frequently quoted here they wouldn't have millions of daily users.... and growing.  That is just mis-information being circulated.

Also, you require a minimum of 256/128 Kbs Internet speeds to get good Skype voice quality.  1 Mbs speed is better - just like most broadband VoIP services require.

The fact is that most VoIP services offer low rates to most destinations in USA/Canada.  Some examples are

Gizmo Project, which is a Skype like competitor that has USA numbers.  But is is also a softphone that runs on PC.

But, your question isn't clear as to whether you need to have a USA-based DID (phone number) or you just want low rates for calling to USA?

For cheap calling to USA, you can also use Yahoo Voice, Windows Live Messenger, MediaRing Talk, Efonica, Gizmo Project, PcCall, as well as Skype.

If you can get a configurable (unlocked) broadband ATA (analog telephone adapter) such as the LInksys PAP2T, you can configure it to work with may VoIP services of your choice and use it with your regular PSTN telephone plugged into the ATA.

I do this with InPhonex and CallCentric.  They also offer a free softphone for use on your PC if you want (links through my profile).  

You can buy the ATA adapters from InPhonex, too.  You can use the ATA adapter anywhere in the world and connect through InPhonex or CallCentric from anywhere that has good high-speed Internet connection.  

They provide local USA phone numbers too if you like.  In fact, InPhonex offers DID phone numbers for over 30 countries around the world and Callin Card access too.  

And, if you have family/friends in USA and you and they both have an account too, then you can call each other for FREE.  This is known as In-Network calling, and most VoIP services offer this option.  Only catch is that you and the people calling each other have to have accounts with same service provider.  Otherwise, you only get charged for the low per minute rates to the called destination.

My web site (CQ VoIP Call) offers many other suggestion on how to VoIP (link is through my profile)....