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Cheap calls to India

By Leah Boundy - editorial@consumerchoices.co.uk

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Making cheap calls to India use to only be possible if you used a phonecard or went through a complicated redirection process. But now there are more options available to make cheap calls to India (Updated 26/2/10)

International calling plans

Provider	Package Name		India call price (per minute)		Monthly package cost		Line rental cost
	Vonage V-Plan 4i		FREE		£18.99		£11.54
	Talk UK Anytime		23.75p		£4.49		£11.49
	Primus Home Phone Max		18.00p		£2.89		£10.99
	Anytime Saver Offer		20.00p		£2.95		£10.99

If you make a lot of calls to India, you could be wasting a small fortune, depending on the provider you use. Each provider specialises in particular types of calls so, for instance, Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com) offers some great deals on UK calls and broadband packages, but a 10-minute call to India with Virgin Media can cost you nearly £8. Thankfully, there are other providers that cater for people who want to save on calls abroad.

You can also buy add-ons for your home phone package to reduce the cost of international calls.

For example, if you sign up with BT's (www.bt.com) Friends and Family International package, which costs an extra 99p a month on top of your normal monthly contract, you can call India for just 5.3p per minute, so a 10-minute call would cost 53p plus a 9.3p call set-up charge. You can also get a discount on calls to mobiles in India, cutting costs down to as little as 8.9p per minute on the same BT plan. This BT scheme offers discounts on international calls to 234 destinations.

If you're signing up for this sort of deal with any provider, be sure to check the small print. In many cases, the offer of inclusive calls or discounted calls only applies to calls that last under an hour. You will have to hang up and re-dial to avoid paying the full call charge after your hour is up.

Making cheap calls to India using your broadband connection

If you have the internet in your home, one of the best ways to make cheap calls to India is by using your broadband connection. This method of making calls is called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), using providers like Vonage (www.vonage.co.uk) and Skype. To use either of these services, all you have to do is download the software from your chosen website and sign up for an account. Then, if the person you're calling has the same service, you can phone them over the internet for free. If they don't you can still use your Skype or Vonage service to call their landline at a reduced cost.

Vonage even offers a tariff that caters especially for cheap calls to India, offering a half-price per-minute rate for a monthly charge. For more information, read our guide to the Vonage V Plan India.

For more information on VoIP and making internet calls, read our guide to VoIP providers.

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