Is Skype the best voip solution from Russia to the U.S.?

July 9, 2009 9:47 AM

Is a SkypeOut the "best" solution to call back to the U.S. while travelling through Russia?

A friend of mine is traveling through Russia for a month. He wants to call back home from time to time and AT&T is telling him $5/minute on his iPhone. I was thinking he could get a local SkypeOut account and call home whenever he could find decent internet access. We talked about getting him a USB voip adapter but for the few times he'll use it not sure that will be the efficient way to go. Are there better options that I'm missing?

posted by toomuch to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

The Skype app for the iPhone is great. It's slightly more than 2 cents per minute for calls to the US, and works perfectly (I use it all the time when I am traveling). He could also use it to cheaply send SMS messages.
posted by helios at 10:03 AM on July 9, 2009 [1 favorite]

Best answer: He doesn't need a "local" SkypeOut account - he can use his US/whatever bank card to load up some credit (it comes in $10 chunks) into his normal Skype account, then just log into Skype and call whoever he wants. Your balance is displayed at the top of your contact list so it's super-easy to keep track of. I love it - I live in Poland and there is simply no cheaper way to do it, and the calls are really clear. Not sure what sorts of data roaming rates he'd have to worry about in Russia with an AT&T account, but I use internet cafes and my home computer all the time and have zero problems with it. 2¢ a minute is hard to beat!
posted by mdonley at 10:16 AM on July 9, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yup, as mdonley said, no need for a local SkypeOut account. You use the same Skype account for everything and you get charged based on the destination country regardless of where you're calling from. I've found SkypeOut pretty reliable and have used it to call the US from China and Sweden.
posted by pravit at 10:59 AM on July 9, 2009

If he doesn't already have SkypeOut then they're doing a deal right now where you can get a month for free. I'm not sure how exclusive that is, but I don't plan on using it so I'd be willing to share if need be.
posted by theichibun at 11:44 AM on July 9, 2009

Note that with a Skype subcription you pay $2.95 / month for unlimited* calls to anywhere in the US/Canada.

* the usual "fair use" restrictions apply.
posted by randomstriker at 12:06 PM on July 9, 2009