Recently, I discovered, while browsing the Wall Street Journal site, an Internet-based phone service that uses regular land line phones as well as mobile/cell phones for low-cost or even free calls, even between many foreign countries.
The service is run by a company from the Netherlands and is called JAJAH and is at www.jajah.com. To make calls the number of the phone making the call must be registered on the site. What you do is dial the call using the web site. The service calls your phone and when you pick up, it then rings the other phone number. A call to an unregistered number can be as low as 2.5 cents/minute, including many foreign countries in Europe and a few in Asia, including Japan. (The rate charts are all online.)
Calls to another registered number can often be free. There are some restrictions on how long and how often free calls are allowed. The registered number to be called must also be an "active" number -- in other words, that number has to be an originating call about once a week using the JAJAH service.
Within the U.S. it might not make a whole of sense for people with cell phones with plenty of minutes because most of the plans include nationwide free long distance included in the minutes. But for people without cell phones, or with plans that don't include free long distance, it could make sense.
And for calling overseas, it can make a whole lot of sense. For example, my calls to a landline number (mobile is more expensive) in Japan are 2.5 cents/minute, any time of the day. If the landline number in Japan is registered and active, the call can be free.
We've occasionally experienced service outages or busyness, so it isn't 100% reliable, but for the lower cost for calls, I think it's worth the hassle. And unlike many of the other IP-telephony services, no special equipment needs to be obtained. Just continue to use the existing landline and mobile equipment.
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