10. April 2012 · Comments Off on Staying In Touch With Friends And Family Members Is Finally Affordable · Categories: Reasons To Bless The Internet

A number of years ago I was visiting with a friend whose family was from Sicily. His parents and siblings were here in the US, but the extended family lived in Italy, Argentina and Canada.

Though time and distance were important separators, I learned during my visit that the telephone was the chief way for his far flung family members to stay in touch.

It also regularly resulted in phone bills approaching $500 each month! Thanks to important advancements in communication technology – namely, the rise of internet telephony – calling friends and family members around the world is finally affordable. My friend’s family discovered the way to reduce calling charges by as much as 90%, helping to make “staying in touch” a financially viable reality. Fortunately, these new options are available to you – if you know where to look. Say Good-Bye To Costly International Calling The days of budget busting phone bills are over. Consumers, who used to be faced with calls costing 25 to 50 cents per minute, even more, have a choice when placing international calls. And, unlike some phone providers, no calling cards or PIN codes are required. Today, there are phone service providers who have built their modern networks on the back of the internet by developing a way for calls to be transferred over less costly internet lines. These new networks, which got their start over the past decade, have matured to the point where calls are clear, cheap, and easy to place. No operators are needed to handle your calls – if you have one of the many compatible phones available and an internet connection, then dialing your way to savings can begin right away. Say Hello To Friends and Family Members So, just how low can rates get to the countries you want to call? Very low! Without naming specific internet telephony providers, I’ve seen rates as low as two cents per minute to the United Kingdom and sixteen cents per minute to the Philippines. Calls to Mexico, Canada, Germany, China, India, and Australia can be made for just pennies per minute making it easy for you to stay in touch with your Uncle Sal or Aunt Emelina.

Maintaining contact with the Patel family back home is possible without having to make calls at odd hours or on weekends in a bid to save money. Internet telephony rates are the same no matter what the hour, day or time of the year you place your call, allowing you spend quality time talking to your loved ones without worrying about running up a huge phone bill. Make Those Important Business Calls Too Even businesses are getting into the internet telephony game and saving thousands annually in international calling costs. With so much business these days conducted across national borders, calls from California to France or Illinois to Japan are no longer prohibitive. Email doesn’t cut it and flying there isn’t always practical and talking to your business partners at rates that won’t bleed you dry is appealing to any savvy business owner. Shop Around For The Best Plan Finally, shop around for an internet telephony provider who has the best plan for your needs. Look for a company that is well established, offers top notch customer support, and has a rate structure that is easy to understand. In most cases you can get started right away, connecting you to family, friends, and business partners at costs the phone company cannot possibly match.

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