Callkeyone Card - "0044"

[andy]

Originally Posted by 0700700

andy why did you do that for? :blink

Because I was hoping for this tariff - landlines from 6.4p, UK mobile 9.8p, other mobile 14.8p.

As ticex says, it's a bit odd that I was looking at a different callback with the CallKey SIM, and CallKey callback with Riiing.

So for now it's back to the ideas from earlier - simpler to make the calls as I could only do the latter one on the website so far, whereas the earlier one has two other chances - sms or their call-me-back button (well just an idea - I've saved it, but not tried yet) - and maybe CallKey will turn on the caller ID some day.


Thanks for the call divert idea to Riiing, but that costs 17p a minute from O2; I was on 7p until Enlinea's rate went up. 8p is possible CBW to Riiing but I think you can only get an 800 number which would confuse people with the announcement. And there are cheaper calls available from UK to IoM mobiles than to Riiing.

[ticex]

I've been working on this system the past few days and thought I'd share what I've managed to get setup.

The problem I had with using the voipfone internet trigger was that I always had to type my callkey number into the "calling from" box and it was a pain remembering it. Well, I found a workaround - I added an extra virtual PBX extension (number 202) into my account and have that set to always divert to my callkey mobile (costs 8.4p /min). I login to the Voipfone "PDA" callback page then type the number I want to call in the top box and simply the diversion extension "202" in the 2nd box. A few seconds later the mobile rings and when I answer the person I'm calling's phone rings. The smart thing is when I hang the call up the voipfone callback page immediately refreshes and has 2 fresh boxes for my next callback. Total call cost to a UK landline = 9.5 pence / min (+/- 13.7 euro cent). It's about the same cost to call landlines in most of Europe, USA and all the other "cheap" destinations. I've tested it quite extensively and it does always seem to work perfectly. 100% call quality and the caller ID sent is that of my UK landline number which if people call back will ring straight through to the mobile. To further save money on incoming calls I've completely deactivated the voicemail on the callkey line so when a diverted call rings for 30 seconds voipfone stop the diversion and instead send it to my voicemail box. This then sends the messages via email as an attachment which I can pickup directly on my internet phone.

To make this work I'm using my SPV smartphone with the Wind mega-no-limit sim inside and the callkey sim in a 2nd phone so it's a 2-handset setup. As I'd probably have both phones with me this isn't much inconvenience and allows for pan european coverage at the same low price. I think this price is hard to beat and as I said before, for me personally it's a major advantage to be able to divert my landline calls for such a low price.

There is another option where you send an SMS to voipfone from the callkey handset but I prefer the internet version as it saves the cost of an sms. As such I've not tested this sms method yet but I'll try it over the next days and report back.

Now, another interesting part in this is voipfone apparantly are planning to introduce the facility to have incoming numbers from outside the UK. Also, if you can prove you own a specific number and fax them the paperwork they will put an option in your account to send that caller ID on outgoing calls. I've put in a request for them to add my callkey number which would be handy but I guess they will also allow an international (non-uk) caller ID which could be useful for other people.

[andy]

I had another idea, untried as yet. I've saved my Voipfone call-me-back button as a wap/gprs bookmark on another phone. If I divert incoming Voipfone calls to the IoM SIM, then I'm hoping to type the number I want to call in the single box ...

Another choice would be to use call diversion with a different phone, and use that caller ID to trigger the callback.

Then for the ongoing part of the call, there are interesting callthrough possibilities as I already said - 0844, 0871 numbers, meaning many parts of the world including mobiles could be called for 9.5 or 13.4 or 18.4p per minute. I'm waiting to hear on another forum if someone actually tried 0844 over VoIP.

On the Voipfone forum, someone asked about other numbers, and was referred to IPkall, which will issue a free US number (in Washington state) which can be pointed straight at your Voipfone SIP address. Might give our American friends some ideas ...

[ticex]

Hi Andy,

This is an interesting idea about the call-me-back button. I hadn't actually thought of this option and this certainly would simplify things. I'll have a play around with this over the next few days and see what can be done.

I've tried the 0844 numbers myself and while they do work the one problem is with the specific one I found via moneysavingexpert's website which allowed calling UK mobiles. The call quality really wasn't so good but the 0871's to mobiles in Poland, France and Germany were better but not without quality problems on occasion. I think this needs some more testing.

Finally, I must have read the exact post you are referring to on the voipfone forum! I've setup one of these IPkall numbers and given it to friends and clients in the USA. It really does work perfectly when forwarding to voipfone. The only minor issue is the incoming caller ID is lost and the call simply comes up as "Asterisk" with the IP address of the American server - not a big deal though.

I think there are certainly some interesting possibilities with this combination. For the moment I've decided to put this callkey sim down as a "tester" because it's not really proven until more of us use it extensively in different countries. It does seem to work 100% so let's just hope it stays like this as it's a rather good setup!

[oneworldtech]

I used to use a product called Mint for years then found other cheaper roaming services like United Mobile. However none really gave me a service I could use to receive calls on, simply because giving out the number was too expensive. I then came across a product called Callblue Gsm (www.callblue.com ); they offer a UK Mobile number which was great as now I could give this out to everyone I needed to call me.

What I found about callblue is:

1. they offer a UK number which was great for me and was really cheap for people to call me. I noticed that if you have cross-network minutes available on your existing UK mobile phone, then you could call callblue and the call was free.
2. they have several plans to suit my needs, including plans to offer free incoming calls across Europe while I roam.
3. they have low roaming prices in many destination, I recently traveled to South Africa and used the service to place calls from there, it really saved me a bundle
4. they have good customer services, as I too was confused as to when the call gets billed, but I received a reply back within half hour of sending my email; they have an online support center which helped answer all my general questions

when using my existing Orange Mobile from the UK while roaming, I noticed my monthly bills were around ?500 per month, now they are a fraction of that. J

i also used to use skype out service to place calls from my computer, but noticed that they did not have great quality to mobile numbers, and then I used callblue and their quality was really good. I then signed onto callblue voip product, they have a pc to phone software that I can use from my computer to place calls when I don?t want to use my mobile. The rates are very reasonable and quality is good as well. A typical call of 10-mins to UK cost me; $0.325, which was around 17p.

I went to callkey?s website, but there is nothing there and did not seem that impressive. The rates are not straight forward and did not feel like I wanted to risk buying something where I have no idea what my costs are.

From France I paid $0.43 per minute which worked out to be around 22p per minute which was something compared to my existing Orange calls of ?1.50 per minute.

I?ve also found it very helpful to use an online voicemail service where I can forward my landline calls to and receive my voicemails as attachments to my voicemail. This way I can always be in touch. It?s like being in the UK, only not.

I think I will stick to this, as having a uk number really helps out.

[ticex]

Ah, Mint! A blast from the past that one...

Interesting...I hadn't heard of this "callblue" service before. However, I notice to have free incoming calls outside the UK and within Europe you have to pay a monthly subscription of $19.99 otherwise they charge.

Personally, I think the callkey (0044) offer is better value and UM has the proven reliability but it is still interesting to see another company launch a package like this.

[Przemolog]

Originally Posted by ticex

Ah, Mint! A blast from the past that one...

What was Mint? I googled a little but still don't know. Was it a brand for Swisscom International SIM?

[andy]

I'm not quite sure whether to suggest that this Callblue product deserves a separate thread, or whether it might be an alternative brand for CallKey or is another IoM SIM.

Comparing the 0044 and Callblue destination lists shows up several differences, but then looking at the Geodesa site ticks off most of the exceptions. The only ambiguities are Aruba, Bosnia & Hercegovina and St Kitts/Nevis/Anguilla.

However, our new member has pointed mainly to prices, and it must be said that at the moment the Callblue rates of 51c or 61c per minute look rather higher than 20 to 30c from CallKey. I am at a loss to understand this remark

From France I paid $0.43 per minute which worked out to be around 22p per minute which was something compared to my existing Orange calls of ?1.50 per minute.

The Callblue listed rate from France is 51c, not 43c, that is about 28p, and it is not clear whether this includes VAT or not. And to call a UK or other European mobile from Europe costs 79c to $1.01 which is only marginally cheaper than using O2 contract roaming at 58p or Orange at 70p. The quoted ?1.50 from France on an Orange UK contract is fictitious, and as a result I am slightly sceptical about these remarks.

As ticex and I discussed earlier in the thread, CallKey's tariff for France to European landlines is $0.206 plus VAT, = 14p, and there are prospects of making cheaper arrangements at about 9.5p. It is true that CallKey's rates to mobiles are not quite so great, but they are still a lot less than Callblue, and again, there are other callback services that would charge from ?0.30 apart from my idea around 19p.

Is the call forwarding to voicemail to email using this SIM, or a separate product with the company? There are other services with free voicemail and fax to email using ordinary area codes, and the call forwarding would be cheaper than forwarding to a mobile.

[0700700]

andy sorry but i am getting confused now...

the sim card we are discussing is it from 0044.co.uk or from geodesa.com ?

thanks


because the prices i see to call from France to UK/russia/belgium landlines are 0.49? a minute !!!

can you provide a link to the call calculator you are using ? thanks

[andy]

I think it's the same SIM from both places (and others)

The CallKey tariffs are on secure pages when accessing the account, so you'll just have to believe it for now, sorry. A text message comes after each call with the cost - $2.11 for 10.2 minutes from France