Phone Cards
Since we're talking about cell phones - how about the other side - how folks in the states might call you in Benin.I've been using Nobelcom for a long, long time. They're rates good - and call quality is usually ok, but it varies a lot, and it can sometimes be hard to get connected - though most of the time the call goes through right away.
NobelCom's Benin Rates for calling cell phones
The skypeout rates to Benin look ok, too. But I've never used them for international stuff.
Anyone have any other suggestions?
2 Comments:
I used to work for a telecom company that did prepaid, and for a short while was a customer service rep. for prepaid customers. So I've been on both sides of the table. All I can say is, especially to African countries, be careful. Seriously. Prepaid is a really, really, really, really, really, really, dirty business. Seriously.
They'll say you get 168 minutes for $20, but only under very certain bizzare circumstances, like you call the person while milking a shaved goat and yodeling.
Further, the routes to Benin are likely VERY poor, and to get a decent rate prepaid companies will use the cheapest routes, which incidently are the poorest. Often times you'll get a VoIP route (which is what Skype Out uses). The call quality will likely be highly variable; expect disconnects and further deduction of minutes from your phone card. In honesty, if you have tech savvy parents have them use Skype Out. It's fairly inexpensive, relatively user friendly and you know pretty well what you're going to get.
If nothing else, start with low denomination cards expecting to get screwed. Work up to higher denominations as your trust of the company grows. Trial and error is really the name of the game. We had and serviced cards that were awesome, gave you exactly what was advertised. There were nasty cards too though, ones with hidden fees and bizzare connection fees that occured after the first call, and of course the catch all "rates are subject to change at any time, without notification to the customer" clause in the user agreement.
Not much more to say about it. Just be cautious
FWIW, and I should have been more clear, I've been using nobelcom to call Togo on a regular basis for the last 2 years - and China for a year before that - so I can at least vouch for the fact that they are not going to jack you and run, and that the service for Africa works (at least as well as can be expected. And, yes, the backend is all VOIP based).
That said, I agree with you - there's a whole lot of sketch in this business - recommendations from people you know and risky trial and error are really the only two methods I've found.
Post a Comment
<< Home