Calling into Thailand from the US

[SlowlyMan]

I've been using Muangthai for several years now to make calls into Thailand. For the most part it works well and you can't beat the price per minute. In recent months actually conecting with a Thai number has become increasingly difficult. I have talked with customer service. They tell me the problem is with The phone system in Thailand not having enough infrastructure to handle the volume of incoming calls, so the call just hangs in limbo.

 

Anybody have similar problems? work arounds? I've tried a couple different carriers with the same result. I've been thinking about Skype, but then I'm tied to the phone at home. If it really is a problem on the Thai side any service will have connection problems. I've called from Thailand to the US with no problems.

[Kiekiat]

What is muangthai and how does one go about getting this service? I use an application on my phone called PennyTalk which has different rates to call most any country in the world. The rates are not all that cheap, however, and to call Thailand is around 19 cents a minute. I would be interested in using muangthai though it sounds like it's having some major problems right now...

[Bob4you]

I call anywhere in Thailand, USA, UK, Japan and many other countries for free using my computer and smartvoip.com. To initiate service you must have a credit balance and you get free calls for 90 days then you must top up again for 10 Euros. It does cost about 10 cents a minute to call Philippines and wife calls family often so I can use 10 Euros every 90 days easily. Works clearly night and day 7 days a week.

[SlowlyMan]

What is muangthai and how does one go about getting this service? I use an application on my phone called PennyTalk which has different rates to call most any country in the world. The rates are not all that cheap, however, and to call Thailand is around 19 cents a minute. I would be interested in using muangthai though it sounds like it's having some major problems right now...

 

http://www.callmuangthai.com/

[SlowlyMan]

I call anywhere in Thailand, USA, UK, Japan and many other countries for free using my computer and smartvoip.com. To initiate service you must have a credit balance and you get free calls for 90 days then you must top up again for 10 Euros. It does cost about 10 cents a minute to call Philippines and wife calls family often so I can use 10 Euros every 90 days easily. Works clearly night and day 7 days a week.

 

Voip is an option, but then I am tied to the computer. Because of the time difference, I frequently call while I'm working.

[PUSSAHOLIC]

I use Skype as you can make unlimited calls to Thailand for a fee of less than $20 a year. My wife used to go through a $20 phone card from the Thai market every couple of weeks before I started the service. Supposedly Skype has some new application that will work on some cell networks but you will need to research that yourself.

[Rambone]

When I called my TGF I used Pingo.com. I think it was 3.3 cents per minute to Thailand from USA, with a $1 a month charge. Now as my wife she calls Thailand with this (as I no longer have a reason to). Sometime she uses some Skype like app but it's not skype, more like a chat room using PC cameras so you can see who you're talking to. Mainly that's to talk to her son who is pretty internet saavy.

[Sexyfarangman]

The one use charges about 2 cents per minute. Can't complain about that.

[SlowlyMan]

I use Skype as you can make unlimited calls to Thailand for a fee of less than $20 a year. My wife used to go through a $20 phone card from the Thai market every couple of weeks before I started the service. Supposedly Skype has some new application that will work on some cell networks but you will need to research that yourself.

 

For $20 bucks a year, maybe I can find a way to make it work. I'll have to dig in a little more.

 

As an update I switched over to Enjoy prepaid. A bit more expensive then Muangthai, but the quality seems better at the moment

[XOL123]

gmail with googlevoice, you get free calls to the USA and Canada, and about .03cents to mobile in thailand and .02cents to landlines, plus you can port your regular number to gvoice for $20 or choose a new number for free, and the beauty of Googlevoice is that you can install it in your android or iphone and receive and make calls with the Gvoice # , you'd need a data plan or wifi on your phone for this to work.

 

https://www.google.c...US&currency=USD

 

 

and this one is .004 cents cheaper to thailand, about 0.026 to landlines and 0.021 to mobiles , but calls to the USA are not free.

http://www.iconnecth...1&p=0&service=0

 

vonage mobile is good too, http://www.vonagemob...-mobile-app.php

 

it uses your own number as a caller id, 0.024landlines and 0.036mobiles

free calls to usa,canada,puerto rico up to 3000 minutes a month.

again you need data service or wifi on your phone, android or iphone and like google voice you can call and text for free to other subscribers.

 

I tried yahoo voice before, calling thailand at .09 cents per minute, the call quality is good but did a little research and found better cheaper alternatives.

I've only call #'s in the USA with google voice and the quality is also good.

 

 

skype also has unlimited calls to thailand mobiles and landlines for $13.99 a month

Edited February 26, 2012 by XOL123

[tt2008]

Voip is an option, but then I am tied to the computer. Because of the time difference, I frequently call while I'm working.

 

Skype on a smartphone works OK as long as you have wifi available or can use free network data as part of your cell plan - then no cost.