# Cheap US/UK phone rates, anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2001, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-us-uk-phone-rates-anyone/62410 "2001-04-18T10:58:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-us-uk-phone-rates-anyone/62410/1 "2001-04-18T10:58:25Z")
Does anyone know of a reliable low cost phone company for calls between the US and the UK? At .10 at minute, my phone bills are pretty ridiculous. Funny, that seemed cheap at first, but it turns out we can both talk quite a bit. 🙂 I found one called CogniDial that looks a bit better (.068 per minute), but haven’t tried it yet. Has anyone tried it or have any other companies to recommend? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-us-uk-phone-rates-anyone/62410/2 "2001-04-18T12:05:44Z")
I don’t know about the US end, but the person you’re calling could try signing up with OneTel or Atlantic Telecom. I’ve used both of them successfully. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-us-uk-phone-rates-anyone/62410/3 "2001-04-18T12:35:28Z")
I’ve always been fond of not paying for long distance at all. You might both want to check into installing NetMeeting (you might have it already, I think it comes with Win98) on your computers (it’s a free program) and then getting headsets with microphones so you can talk. Just make sure you don’t sign on with any directories (you’ll get so many phone call attempts from 3rd parties it’s not even funny), and when you are ready to call each other just enter in the person’s IP address and it will ring them directly. You can talk for as long as you want for free 🙂 Hell, take it one step farther and both of you get webcams and hook them up as well, then you can talk and _see_ each other for free. Really, it’s a fabulous thing. Email me if you want/need anymore help getting it setup (if you choose that route) or for camera advice. ([mauvaise3@home.com](mailto:mauvaise3@home.com)) ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-us-uk-phone-rates-anyone/62410/4 "2001-04-18T13:34:41Z")
I went through the same problem when calling Sweden a lot (I wonder why…). Anyway, phone cards are the way to go. Check out liquor stores and the like for them. For me, in Washington, DC, I buy cards for $5, $10, or $25, but I get the same ridiculous $0.017/minute rate to Sweden with them. Of course, the first minute costs $1.5, but if you’re on the phone for more than a half hour (and I am…), it’s worth it. The one I use is Econophone’s [Econolo](http://www.econophone.com/products/window_econolo.html) card. Check it out. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-us-uk-phone-rates-anyone/62410/5 "2001-04-18T14:19:32Z")
I don’t know about from the US end, but from the UK, I recently signed up with [http://www.planet-talk.co.uk](http://www.planet-talk.co.uk) & their rate UK to US is 3p per minute…my cable company is 10p per minute (or 5p per minute if I pay an extra £2 per month) & BT’s rate is something like 24p per minute (ouch!). Planet Talk give you a pin number so you can call it from anywhere in the UK, not just your home phone, so it’s useful when you’re away from your pc setup. I know that you put US to UK, but I’m assuming that the other end of the call may be interested too…I’ve only just signed up with them, so if you are interested, mail me in about a month & I’ll tell you how I’ve got on. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2001, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-us-uk-phone-rates-anyone/62410/6 "2001-04-18T14:37:16Z")
fierra’s right – phone cards are the way to go. I don’t know what the US-UK rate is, but the male porpentine can call me from the UK for about 5p a minute. (I hate making phone calls, he hates airplanes. It works out.) BTW, welcome to the wonderful world of transatlantic relationships. You ain’t seen phone bills yet.