Call Costs from UK to USA

Hi everyone!

My elderly parents have an analogue phone line that will need to be switched to digital at the end of the month (or by next year at the VERY latest - but their broadband package is due to "expire" at the end of the month). I am looking at switching their phone line over to A & A but I am having a bit of difficulty in getting a clear picture on how much it would cost my parents to call the US from their landline. My father has some banking in the US and has, on occasion, needed to call them to sort things out. Can anyone help me with some clear pricing so that I can pass that onto my parents to help them decide if A & A is the right path for them. FTR, they have 2 cordless DECT phones, one in the living room and one in their bedroom (different makes and models - not sure what those are at the moment).

Thanks for reading this and I look forwards to hearing your thoughts on this!

Yours,

Try googling. Try "andrews and arnold phone tariffs". You might get a calculator for the first result.

There are alternative call carriers, you can access from any 'phone, for long distance use.

Probably a lot cheaper than your 'phone supplier

I use 18185. https://www.18185.co.uk/

In reply to a post by Brunel:

There are alternative call carriers, you can access from any 'phone, for long distance use.

Probably a lot cheaper than your 'phone supplier

I use 18185. https://www.18185.co.uk/

Hi,

My parents would still need a functional phone line to use an alternative call carrier. They are, currently, with Plus Net for their phone line and broadband. As most people know, PN are no longer supplying phone lines with their broadband and this why I need to transfer their phone line elsewhere. I'd heard some good stuff about A & A and thought I would go there. If anyone has any better (and maybe cheaper) ideas then please send them my way.

Yours,

AAISP have a price lookup on their VoIP page https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/voip-informat... - e.g. +1 212 (New York) is 2ppm inc. VAT anytime, minimum 2.4p.

You'll have to work out if PAYG is better value than a minutes inclusive package from other providers as AAISP don't offer any of these. Unless making a lot of calls PAYG is likely to be less expensive.

I second doing the homework/sums on 'all in' v.s. pay per min.

When I last looked at this I grabbed an export of the phone bill and manually calculated the true cost if I'd paid for all the calls individually - it worked out cheaper to go on to pay per min for me at least.

A&A VoIP has been great for me, also can port in your existing landline phone number so everything just keeps working.

My children and I talk to each other using WhatsApp. Assuming both ends have a reasonable internet connection the call is free and can carry live video of each other..
This might not be convenient to call the bank but works very well for those with a mobile phone (which can be paired with a tablet or PC) and there is no call charge.
If you need to speak with the bank, let them call you on the telephone.

Hi,

My father uses WhatsApp in much the same way. It's just for banking that my father might need to call the US once maybe twice a year or so if there is an issue. He has issues using devices as his fingers don't work like they used to and he finds using computers frustrating. I try my best to help where I can to offload some of the stress he puts on himself but he can be very stubborn and forgetful.

Thanks,

I've only ever used A&A for incoming calls from rellies who refuse to phone my mobile, but the PAYG call costs seem very cheap compared to BT etc.
https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/prices/call-p...
A call to US with minimum charge of 2.4p and 2p per minute, should work out at £1.20 per hour, seems to good to be true.

My setup has an incoming line much as your proposed AA service (which as far as I can tell is the cheapest offering). Mine is a legacy thing from Sipgate and costs nothing, but I don't know how much longer they will continue it; I'll jump to AA if/when they kill it off.

BUT as for outgoing calls, I use Freevoipdeal (which is one of several brands operated by Dellmont) and have done for several years. The home device (in my case, my router) manages this, receiving inbound via Sipgate and making most* outbound via FVD.

FVD tariff is like this: You pay them EUR12.50. For that you get EUR10 calling credit AND 120 days free outbound calls to UK domestic 01/02/03 plus a good number of overseas destinations including the USA. Yes - totally free. After 120 days it goes into a PAYG model with all calls chargeable out of that EUR10 credit you have. An auto-top-up is an option to top the account when it gets down to (say) EUR1, at which point you pay another EUR12.50 and get another EUR10 credit and another 120 days free calls. In other words you'd only need to pay them twice or at most three times per year. The rates for chargeable calls are very low so that EUR10 will probably last a further month or few.

Dellmont (FVD etc) do not provide any numbers for rent - hence the duplication of providers. But they do transmit any confirmed number as the CallerID. Once set up it's seamless and works just as a regular telephone. The set up is, of course, just a one-time thing.

* FVD do charge for 0800 numbers so I have mine configured to route outbounds via Sipgate (who don't).