Pakistan calling alternatives

uzee · #1 (**permalink**) April 20th, 2009, 09:15 PM

Hi,
I live in USA and had been using net2speech with a virtual Karachi number without any problems for the past 1.5 years but unfortunately the company has terminated its services due to losses. In my experience, they were the most reliable and economical as compared to other providers like callpakistandirect or click2dial, etc.
So now I'm back to trying to figure out the best solution. Since it has been a while and the VOIP scene I'm sure has advanced beyond my grasp in the mean time I thought I'd post here for some advice or suggestion as to what the alternatives are.
I have never tried Braintel as they don't give Karachi numbers plus they seem to have problems every now and then.
One idea I had was to get a virtual USA number and have it forwarded to my home in Pakistan, is that possible because USA/Canada virtual numbers are available either free or very cheap.
If this is not viable, what other providers would be comparable to net2speech..??

(don't know if it matters, but I have AT&T Uverse broadband phone line)

Please advise.
Thanks
uzee

uzee · #2 (**permalink**) April 21st, 2009, 03:01 AM

Did I post in the wrong forum by any chance ...?

amir420 · #3 (**permalink**) April 21st, 2009, 03:35 PM

mine is closed aswell and this is msg what i have got from callwithus

Dear custumer,
We got the following message from DID carrier:

Due to the presser and changes in the terms of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) vendor 700734 has also terminated their DID service.

Ezy · #4 (**permalink**) April 21st, 2009, 04:41 PM

I have been using a DID number from Nomado. The price is 24 Euros for 6 months. It has been very reliable & their customer support is also very efficient. You can give it a try & if you do so please give my customer ID "E01613" because they also provide a little benefit for customer referral

. You can also use then for outgoing calls but for outgoing its a bit expensive so I use Call with us for outgoing.

amir420 · #5 (**permalink**) April 21st, 2009, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ezy

I have been using a DID number from Nomado. The price is 24 Euros for 6 months. It has been very reliable & their customer support is also very efficient. You can give it a try & if you do so please give my customer ID "E01613" because they also provide a little benefit for customer referral

. You can also use then for outgoing calls but for outgoing its a bit expensive so I use Call with us for outgoing.

is it still wrking for u

Ezy · #6 (**permalink**) April 21st, 2009, 07:41 PM

Yes it is still working but I have just checked now & they have increased their call DID retention charges to 60 Euros/6 months

rizsher · #7 (**permalink**) April 21st, 2009, 07:47 PM

Guys,

Have you considered that fact that calls from Pakistan to US/UK/Canada/Most of Western European landlines, cost the same, or likely less than it costs to call these virtual numbers?.

Riz

uzee · #8 (**permalink**) April 22nd, 2009, 06:12 AM

Ezy:
Thanks for the reply. 60 Euros roughly means $80 USD or $13-$14 per month which is not bad. But if I get a Pakistan DID from them or anywhere else, how will I be able to handle the forwarding, don't I need another service provider for that?? If I do get it from them I certainly will use your referral

Riz:
I agree 100% that it actually costs either the same or a little bit less directly, whether from PTCL or from Pakistani mobile phones. I guess the only justification I can provide is the convenience feature and the misunderstood notion that they are dialing a local number as opposed to calling "overseas".

That said, would my other idea work at all?? I mean if I get a US number for home in Pakistan, how can I forward that to my Pakistani number..? Is there a service provider for that and moreover would it be cost effective, (We all know USA/Canad virtual numbers are really cheap to get).

Thanks again
uzee

saifbarry · #9 (**permalink**) April 22nd, 2009, 06:28 AM

I hate to say it but rizsher is right... i just spent $50 getting 2 Pakistan DIDs yesterday.

Anyway... here's a little workout of the calling costs.

Price of a US DID = $4.00/month
Current cost of a Pakistan DID = $20/month

Call from Worldcall to US = $0.019/min
Call from Worldcall to Local = $0.019/min

Call from PTCL to US = $0.025/min
Call from PTCL to Local = $0.025/min

Call from Ufone to US = $0.027/min
Call from Ufone to Local = $0.031/min

Call from Mobilink to US = $0.029/min
Call from Mobilink to Local = $0.017/min

Call from Telenor to US = $0.035/min
Call from Telenor to Local = $0.031/min

Looks like getting a US DID is a much cheaper alternative...

Regards,
Saif

rizsher · #10 (**permalink**) April 22nd, 2009, 07:10 AM

US DID would be almost free IF the recipient in Pakistan had VoIP hardware... however, it appears most ISP block VoIP and you need to go thru hoops to get the necessary ports opened.... also, that would restrict you to one call recipient only.

Option 2 would be to use someone like CallWithUs, who allow you to forward calls... get a US DID from them, forward it to a Pakistani number... it'll cost quite a bit.. cost of DID/Month + between 4-9 cts/minute.

You could just setup a CallWithUs a/c and use it as a calling card.. they provide access numbers for US/Canada/UK. If U have unlimitied Long Distance dialling plan on your cell or home phone, use that to call the CWU access number... get the dialtone (thru pin or CallerID), and make all the calls you want... their rates are certainly better than most... call quality is a bit lacking at times... but... generally .. quite bearable.

And yes, I agree with the notion of calling a local number... I've kept a Karachi number for over 4 years now.. simply for the conveniene..

Riz