Best way to make an international call?

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

What’s the best way to make an international call using a mobile device?

I remember in 1998 when Chunghwa Telecom became private, there appeared a lot of int. access codes: 019, 016, 01X, etc. It is possible to call simply using the plus sign and then the country code: +1 for US/CN, +852 for HK, +86 for China, +66 for Thailand, and so on.

Is anyone clear on this?

Thanks

2

[quote=“coolingtower”]What’s the best way to make an international call using a mobile device?

I remember in 1998 when Zhonghua Telecom became private, there appeared a lot of int. access codes: 019, 016, 01X, etc. It is possible to call simply using the plus sign and then the country code: +1 for US/CN, +852 for HK, +86 for China, +66 for Thailand, and so on.

Is anyone clear on this?

Thanks[/quote]

It is possible, but you may not get the cheapest possible rate.

I use SKYPE for international calls (mostly to Europe), but there may well be cheaper rates than SKYPE, especially if you call China or the US.

3

Good links

http://www.cht.com.tw/CHTFinalE/Web/Personal.php?Module=NormalArticle&CatID=144&PageID=1063

http://220.130.115.49/rates/index.php?lang=eng

I’ve found 019 to be cheaper, but I’ve also saved a bundle by using calling cards, the kind you can find at the Filipino stores on Zhong Shan N. Road. Be sure to ask about the different rates/cards to whatever country you call most. I saved easily NT2000 by choosing the right card. (Can’t remember which one that was, sorry, as I now used Skype for international calls.)

4

Forget the mobile. Get on a laptop and use skype.

5

I usually just get lazy and make direct calls on my cell. I use the standard (002?) prefix for normal calls and (009) for calls that I expect would last more than 5 minutes. It’s already cheaper than how much it costs in the States to call Taiwan, so in my lazy and illogical reasoning it’s cheap enough.