International calling rates

Given the global nature of my work, a good bit of time is spent on the telephone to places outside my own country of residence. While there have been many changes since the bad old days when one would pay USD 5.00 or more per minute. I had the opportunity to pay over USD 7.00 per minute when calling home from India a number of years ago.

Not only has the breakup of AT&T caused competition, the massive investment of telcos in bandwidth during the 1990's and the spread of VoIP have driven pricing to a fraction of previous rates.

If you are an infrequent user of international telephone services, then paying a somewhat high rate may be annoying, but in the end it does not represent a significant amount of money. On the other hand, if you frequently call internationally, you should definitely plan to review your rates at least quarterly.

Calls to each country generally have separate pricing. One cannot just say that the international call rate for carrier A is one price. The price will usually vary by both originating country and destination country.

And if that were not enough, rates within each county will often vary from city to city and by line type. When comparing rates, you should at least compare the carrier's rates for landline and cellular calls for the cities you usually call.

For example, using Vonage as the carrier, calling a landline in the UK is free. Well, free means no additional charge above the flat monthly rate. However, calling a cell phone in the UK is USD 0.28 per minute. On Vonage, calling both landline and cell phones are free (no additional charge) to India.

Doing some recent comparison, calling a cell phone in the UK on Vonage is USD 0.28 per minute. On Google voice it is USD 0.18 per minute. On Localphone it is USD 0.12 per minute.

Below are links to these carrier's rate pages. If you have another favored carrier, or one to avoid, please let me know. Thanks.

Vonage rates
Google rates
Localphone rates

You will note that calling some types of lines such as satellite phones will be expensive. These might be used in ship-to-shore or middle-of-the-desert situations. Of course, if you must call, then you must call.

Here's to friends and enemies and friends

It seems odd. The changes in relationships that occur due to work restructuring. Even beyond the infamous "re-org," the economy has cause many workforce reductions.

Many people are striking out on their own, building new organizations. If it is in a similar field, there is almost an implicit expectation that competitive issues will arise. Those who worked well together are now competing for the same customers out of the same market.

Yet, I am finding that it does not inherently create alienation. Well, it probably does with some individuals. In my case, it seems that being able to acknowledge the other as a competitor, as the "enemy," is a new form of bonding. When it does not have an impact on our own business, we can seek new ways to work together.

I hope that the friend and former co-worker I talked with today knows that I want to keep the professional relationship. Yes, I am going to do what I can to win. I would expect no less from my friend.

Go Palin, please go

In supporting the Arizona immigration law, Sarah Palin appears to be pulling a tactic from the Kennedy playbook. What does she think; that we will all stand up and say, "Ich bin Arizoner?"

It's time for Americans across this great country to stand up and say, 'We're all Arizonans now,'" Palin said.

This is not a comment on the law. Rather, on Palin's approach. In this land mine laden issue, perhaps she can get damaged enough to get her out of the media spotlight.

It would be refreshing to see the federal government do adequate due diligence and enforcement of the laws we have. Yes, those who wish to change the law should work toward that end as well. It would be nice to see both government and people abiding by the laws we have for a change.

Greetings

The results of this effort are completely unknown. My goal is to better understand blogging and how it might, or might not, be used. Obviously, there can be controversy around blogs. That is not what I seek.

Social commentary seems the most likely staple. Yes, I have opinions. They are only my personal opinions. They do not represent any organization or employer. My intent is not to reveal organizations to which I belong or employers. We'll see if that happens.

This is not intended to be about faith or religious beliefs, but surely it will come up. I am told that we cannot separate our life from our faith, so perhaps I am doomed. Again, the outcome is unknown. My faith is Christianity. My purpose is not to tell you anything about your faith; that is up to you. I will probably say something that will offend someone. I hope that my intent is not malicious. If you ask me a direct question, I might or might not say anything.

In my opinion, everyone benefits when all views are expressed and discussed. Please keep the feedback, like driving a vehicle, "between the ditches."