International calling: the big weak spot in iPhone service
In planning for a trip to Europe a few months ago, I found that one of the biggest weak points in the iPhone package is the cost of international calling and data services on the AT&T network partners.
If you don’t do a little pre-trip planning, as soon as you get off the plane in another country and start using the phone, you will start ringing up enormous charges.
Voice: At the moment, there is no way to get really good per-minute rates for calling with an iPhone, until someone comes up with an iPhone application that really does SKYPE well. Even with AT&T’s “World Traveler” package (not to be confused with “World Connect”), you only save 20-30 cents/minute, and the per minute charge can remain quite high – often a dollar or more per minute. Still, it is worth the $5.99/month.
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