Saving Money On Making International Calls From Singapore

Regardless of whether you are in Singapore on a short-term or long-term basis, it's very likely that you will be making international calls to your friends, family members, or business associates. There are a number of different ways you can make a direct overseas phone call from Singapore. This guide will explain the different choices available to you so you can decide on the best way to make international phone calls from Singapore in your particular situation.

Note: If you are making important business calls overseas, your choice is very clear: use your Singapore telco's Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) based dialing prefix (Singtel: 001, Starhub: 008; M1: 002) to get the best voice quality. It's the most expensive option but provides the best voice quality. This guide written here is for the rest of us who would like to explore options of making affordable international phone calls to friends and family members.

International Calling Choices in Singapore

Telephone Companies

There are three telephone operators in Singapore: Singtel, Starhub, and Mobile One (M1). If you subscribing to their fixed line or mobile phone service, you can use their international dialiing prefix to make overseas calls. They also sell phone cards as well as operate public payphones. Each of these phone companies has its own  international  dialing prefixes as below:

As an example, an international call using Starhub's VOIP based service, will look like 018<country code><city code><phone number>.

PSTN Based Calls
Making overseas phone calls using Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) offers the best voice quality but can be rather expensive. A PSTN based international calling is best suited for important business calls or situations where the voice quality  through other methods is not of acceptable quality for whatever reason.

VOIP Based Calls
International phone calls using telco's VOIP dialing prefix is a popular option in Singapore for the following reasons:

• It's just as convenient to dial as PSTN based phone calls
• The voice quality is very acceptable in most cases
• The rates are more affordable especially if you can take advantage of their promotional schemes

Independent Service Providers

There are many independent service providers that offer international calling services. Most of them offer 10-20 dollar calling cards that you can buy at  any of the convenience stores. The use of calling cards could be somewhat cumbersome as they require you to dial a special number, enter a long pin code, and so on. If you make any mistake in-between you have to start again.

Also, be aware that whenever you use a calling card either from one of the three phone operators or from an independent service provider, in addition to the charges that are deducted from your phone card, you are also charged for the airtime for the local call on your fixed or mobile phone line.

Skype

If you own a computer and have access to internet, this could be your best option taking into consideration the conveinence and rates combined. Skype has become the defacto intenational calling option for most of the tech-savy people. If the person you are calling also has a skype account, you can talk to him FREE anywhere in the world! Skype does not charge for Skype to Skype calls.

You can also call people around the world on their mobiles or landline numbers using Skype. Skype does charge for this service, however, the rate (see Skype Rates) are very reasonbale. In order to make calls to non-Skype users, you need to buy Skype credit by providing your credit card details.

The voice quality using Skype can vary significantly depedning on where you are calling. In general, countries with decent internet infrastructure offer excellent Skype voice quality, often even better than the traditional phone lines.

Comparing Rates

In order to compare the cost of making international phone calls from Singapore, we will take the example of making a 10 minutes phone call to India as of July 2008 using various available options.

Best International Calling Options in Singapore

Choosing the international calling option that provides the best value for you depends on your particular needs. Using a landline to make overseas phone calls from Singapore doesn't seem to provide a good value based on the current offerings (as above) unless you are using a calling card. In general, our recommendations are as follows:

• If you have access to Skype, use it! Skype provides an excellent value for making phone calls to anywhere in the world. The prices are very reasonable and transparent. Most importantly you don't have to waste time in figuring out how to utilize the cheapest rates through various promotions and marketing gimmicks used by telco companies.
   
• If you are subscribing to a M1's postpaid mobile plan (along with subscription to their discounted international calling feature) or Starhub's postpaid subscription plan (except PowerValue plans), you can make international calls using their 018 dialing prefix at a reasonable cost. It might also be worthwhile to switching to such a subscription plan even if you are subscribing to a competitor's plan (See more on Getting a Postpaid Mobile Connection in Singapore) especially now that you can retain your existing phone number as per the recent Number Portability Law in Singapore.
   
• If you are on a short-term visit to Singapore or don't have a postpaid mobile plan, buy a prepaid SIM card from Starhub, Singtel, or M1 for your mobile phone. As per their current promotions, a prepaid SIM card from them provides an excellent value for making local as well as overseas phone calls in Singapore. For more information on getting a perpaid SIM card and latest promotions, refer to Getting a Prepaid Phone Card in Singapore.
   
•  If none of the above is applicable to you, buy a phone card such as Starhub international calling card  at any of the convenience stores and use it. We recommend Starhub international calling card because it has good IDD rates and you will get decent voice quality.

  To further save money, use the calling card from a Starhub landline (see more on Getting a Landline Connection in Singapore) because Starhub landline connection does not charge for outgoing local calls and so you will only be charged for the IDD charges of the calling card. If on the other hand, you are using the calling card from a mobile phone or a Singtel landline, you will be charged for local airtime as well as the card's IDD charges.
   

•  If you have just moved to Singapore and will be staying here on a longer-term basis, we recommend that you go with Starhub as one-stop service provider for your landline, mobile line, cable TV, and internet connections. In addition to dealing with just a single service provider, you will get one of the best values in town or making international phone calls from Singapore.

Note

Given the time sensitive nature of the above information, it's recommended that you check out the latest promotions and rates by visiting websites of the phone companies and decide on what best suits your needs.