[geeks] International calling question

[Geoffrey S. Mendelson]

I often get asked questions about making international calls by people
who have moved here and want to keep in touch with people in the
"old country", etc.

They often look at deals with VoIP companies that include incoming 
numbers. 

When I lived in the U.S. area codes really mattered and so did location
within area code. If you lived inside Philly, calling a mile away,
outside the city raised the price significantly and calling within
Pennsylvania was higher than calling outside. I could call someone in
L.A. for less money than Pittsburgh.

Now it does not seem to matter except that "local" calls in some areas
are easier to dial, but the last time I asked someone about it they had
to dial area codes for their local numbers no matter which one they were
in. 

Almost all of my friends and people I speak to have some sort of unlimited
calling plan. Either it is a cell phone with unlimited calls through out
the US on weekends, a similar landline plan, or a VoIP plan with "unlimited"
calls all the time.

My one friend who does not, does not make enough calls to pay for a cheap
VoIP account, so I guess he does not count.

My 10 year old has no concept of a long distance call, he just asks us to
call anyone he wants when he wants, whether it's a local call (Israel) or
not (US, etc). I'm not sure it matters anyway. He also finds things on
the Internet for us to buy, luckily we don't have "one click" or similar
automatic purchase set up. :-)

Besides making someone think you are in a particular place you are not,
does it matter which area code you pick? 

What about Europe?

Most plans that have European service cover all of the EU, some of Asia,
etc. Do people who live in Europe have such things, or is it still
considered expensive to call a number in France for example, from the UK
or vice versa? 

Is it still expensive to call with countries, for example, London from Wales,
or Berlin from Frankfurt?

Do people think it is, even if it is not?

Any comments or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Geoff.


-- 
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel gsm at mendelson.com  N3OWJ/4X1GM