Many people work or live abroad apart from their friends and family and although e-mail is a convenient way to communicate with your loved ones, there is nothing better than hearing their voice and being able to speak with them.

Some people who own computers use services like Skype to contact friends and family or even to communicate with businesses in foreign countries. The Skype service is free to use if you use it to communicate from one computer to another. This service doesn't just limit you to speaking with people through a head set because you can also see the person that you are speaking with if you both have a web-cam and a fast enough broadband connection.

The main benefit of using a service like Skye is the fact that it allows you to communicate with people abroad for free and cheap international calls can't get any better than being free!

There technology is very clever and there is nothing similar that can compete with their software solution. Unfortunately, like most things that are free, there are some draw backs that should be considered. Many people own a computer in the UK however the people that you wish to contact abroad may not be so fortunate. If they don't have the use of a computer then you will not be able to use this service. If they do own a computer then there is the possibility that they may not have a fast enough internet connection to allow you to use all of the features of the service such as the video element. They would also need to have a microphone, speakers and a web-cam (for the video application) to make the Skype service work. Assuming, that all of this has been catered for, then you will need to find convenient times when you are all able to be sat in front of your computer and start your conversation.

So what are the other alternatives for making cheap international calls? We have found that the most convenient and cost effective solution is to find a company that offers low cost access numbers. This is simply a number that you dial prior to entering your friend's telephone number into your phone. Instead of being charged the stand fee for making an international call you can be charged as little as 1.5 pence per minute. This service allows you to call landlines or mobile phones and is a very convenient alternative. To find these access numbers simply make a quite search on the internet for your destination country and start to enjoy making calls abroad cheaper!

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