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Phone home for less with Vonage’s international calling app

Monday 8 August, 2011

By Kelvin Goodson

New app provides low-cost overseas calls to landlines and mobiles.

Those travelling abroad will be able to cut the cost of phoning home using Vonage’s new mobile app.

The app, initially available for iPhones, allows users to make international calls for “a fraction of the cost” their mobile network would charge them, according to the provider.

Time to Call, which is now available globally through iTunes, will also provide users with a free, 15-minute international call to one of 100 countries for a limited time.

"With the launch of Time to Call, Vonage has simplified the process of making affordable international calls for iPhone users around the globe," said Marc Lefar, CEO of Vonage.

"Not only does this service offer tremendous value for international callers dialling from their home countries, it also provides a great solution for international travellers who want to avoid the bill shock associated with international calls and roaming charges when they call back home,” he explained.

The cost of 15-minute calls to 100 countries using Time to Call, which will be available for Android-powered mobile phones later this year, ranges from 60p to £1.21.

The app offers calls to over 90 additional countries for flat rates that go up to £6.08. Calls to landlines and mobiles are charged at the same rate.

You do not have to be a Vonage home phone service subscriber to use the app, which requires no ongoing commitment. Payments are made through iTunes, removing the need to use credit cards, cash or calling cards.

Lefar added: “Time to Call requires far less effort than calling card services and other international calling plan options, and is substantially less expensive than dialling direct through a mobile carrier - it's simple, fast and fair.”

Data from research firm TeleGeography published earlier this year showed that growth in international call traffic has slumped, with the impact of the global recession on consumers’ ability to pay for international phone calls given as one reason for this.