Tong Family

I never really finished this full analysis, so here it is. This is for traveling to Canada and also calling into Senegal. Here is the strategy I ended up using:

1. 10-10 Phone Rates. This appears to be a fantastic and honest site that analyzes the cost to call out using the 1010 dial around services. The net is that you save quite a bit over the traditional carriers. For calling to Switzerland, the best is 1016868 and then the number. For calling to Canada it’s the same 1016868 seems great as does Everdial, but you have to register there first
2. Telestial. When you are in country, you need a cell phone, so use Telestial to get a global SIM for about $90 if you aren’t going to a major country. Otherwise, if you are, then get into that country and buy a prepaid account. In the UK, that is Fresh at www.carphonewarehouse.com as an example.
3. Save on Phone. Once you have a cell phone for emergencies, don’t ever answer it, you are just using it for urgent things. What you want to do is to get a dial-around service. That is, you call a local access number in that country, it then calls you back from the US using a very low rate. Cognicall seems to have the best rates for doing this from Canada at $0.12 and $0.31 or so from Switzerland using a mobile phone if you are using that Global SIM.
4. Save On Phone – Calling Cards. If you are calling from within the US, the best choice is one of those nationwide cellular plans I think. Otherwise, see the list from Saveonphone, right now Cognicall looks pretty good because there is no monthly fee.