Phone Calls

Terran Palmer-Angell, India Program '03

  The best way to communicate with the United States from India, is to have the person in the United States call an Indian cell phone.  There should be a group phone for emergencies, but it would be recommended for all students to chip in on a cell phone for group home communication to keep the other phone for emergencies only.  Once this is done, the cheapest calls can be made using calling cards.  Calling cards for specific areas in India, and specifically for cell phones can be purchased from www.callingcards.com.   This will always allow for the lowest rate if cards are bought that are made specifically for calls from the United States to India. 

Once on the website, there will be windows labeled “to” and “from”, and you would select “India” and “United States” respectively.   Additionally, there will be a section directly under these windows labeled “best deals”, which will often have rates for India.  From either route, you will come upon a list of calling cards for India – many will be from the U.S. to specific cities, some will be from the U.S. to cell phones – almost always the cheapest are to cell phones. 

Unfortunately, many of them have connection fees or weekly maintenance fees> Of course it is best to find cards that do not have these fees.   However, the lowest rates often have fees, and are very useful if (as with electronics) a few rules are followed:

1.)    Buy a card just before use, for example, set up a phone call with family or loved one, and have them or you purchase the phone card directly before the call, thus avoiding the maintenance fees.

2.)    Purchase a card in small denomination – only the size of your call (maybe 60 or 80 minutes).  These cards can be used up entirely in one call, thus avoiding all the pesky connection fees associated with making multiple calls on the phone card.

3.)    Don’t worry – the larger cards sell minutes for the same price, so you’re not loosing a dime on buying the small denominations. 

Be smart and have a great time!  Trust your instincts on what’s sketchy, and STAY AWAY!  If you have any questions in or out of India email me at tpaxc@yahoo.com  Take care!