VOIP phone service for a relief worker in India frequently calling overseas

This is a hypothetical example of how a US based VOIP phone service may work for an expat or family living outside the USA.

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Summary

A worker with a relief organization moves with his family to India. They sign up for a VOIP phone service based in the USA and use that to call worldwide. With the VOIP service, calls to the USA are free. They also call co-workers and friends scattered throughtout Europe, Asia, and Africa with extremely cheap rates. The VOIP service even gave them a local number in the USA that family and friends can dial to call them for free.

Discovering VOIP abroad

The international worker learned about VOIP from another expatriate. Expats around the world are discovering that VOIP services are better and cheaper than callback services and phone cards. Long distance rates to and from India are famously high, so the worker really needed a cheap alternative.

He chose iConnectHere after reading this review. For $6.99 he gets broadband phone service with all the convenience (a phone that works when his computer is turned off) and features. The plan includes a free phone number in the USA. He has to pay on a per minute basis, but the rates are so law that he'll save compared to all the other options. He could have paid $29 for an "unlimited" calling plan from Packet8, but he doesn't plan to use the service enough to justify such a high monthly fee.

Freedom to use the phone

The worker makes VOIP phone calls to his organization's office in the USA, and his family enjoys keeping in touch with relatives and friends in the USA and around the world. They have friends in Asia, Europe, and Africa due to work connections. Calls to those places are not included in the basic service, but the rates are very low (usually 3 to 5 cents per minute).

iConnectHere provides the family with a local phone number in the USA. They chose a number in their hometown area code, so family and friends who live in that dialing area can pick up the phone and call for free anytime.

Having a local number in the USA has other benefits. For example, they use it to receive faxes from their health insurance company and the bank.

The worker soon found out that people in the USA don't understand the time difference with India. After being woken up in the early morning a few times, he learned that their service comes with a "Do Not Disturb" feature. With this feature turned on, calls are automatically forwarded to voicemail.

Expatriates always face a degree of isolation living so far from the people who know them best. But this family, like more and more expats, has found that cheap VOIP phone calls help them stay connected