

Ask HN: Calling options, other than AT&T, from Iraq for US soliders - donohoe

A family member is about to be deployed to Iraq for a year. They are concerned about the cost involved in keeping in touch with loved ones. Through AT&#38;T it will cost $2.49 to receive a call from Iraq, on top of the cost of an outgoing call.<p>Bearing in mind services such as Skype, Google Voice, MagicJack, and plain old calling Cards, plus they expect a so-so to good (but possibly sporadic) internet connection, can anyone advice on some good options/setups for a intelligent but non-geek user?<p>Thanks
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faramarz
I use prepaid long distance cards to make calls to that part of the world.
Iran for example comes out to be $0.7 to $0.9cent/min (depending on landline
or cell number) compared to the Skype's $0.12/min.

The card provider is Goldline, see rates here
<http://www.goldline.net/prepaidPC-bitaUSA.aspx>

It's very difficult to find a cheap phone-to-phone option in those regions.
Telecoms shake down any foreign providers for ridiculous fees.

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olalonde
You can call landlines in Canada and America for free from Gmail. I did it
from China to Canada and the quality was very good.

