Cheap International Calls from Irish Mobiles

Calendar March 21, 2011 | Posted by Money Guide

It might be surprising to some people (it was to me) – just how cheap some international call rates are from Irish mobile phones. With most calls to mobile networks in Ireland costing at least 20c per minute – you would expect calls to the USA or China to be a lot more  expensive wouldn’t you?
The surprising thing is – that on some Irish mobile networks you can make calls to  mobile phones in countries such as the USA or China for just 2 cents per minute.  These low rates don’t require you to be on contracts or to purchase minimum amounts of top -up – these cheap rates are available to pay as you go customers. Not all providers have such low rates. Tesco has some of the lowest call rates for the small sample of countries we looked at. In one example – calls to Chinese mobiles – Tesco were 98% cheaper than the most expensive (Postfone)
For calls to UK mobiles – Vodafone and Meteor are  cheapest.

Some sample International Call Rates from Irish Mobiles to Mobile Phones in other countries. (Pay as You Go Tariff). Prices are per minute

Country O2 Vodafone Tesco Meteor Three Postfone
China 5c 3c 2c 50c 50c €1
USA 35c 15c 2c 15c 35c 50c
Poland 23c 9c 11c 25c 35c 50c
UK 35c 10c 20c 10c 35c 50c

The above call rates were compared in March 2011 using figures from the mobile providers international tariffs from their websites.

The Meteor rates require opting in to “international”

Category Categories: Best Buys, Charges and Fees, International Calls, Meteor, Mobile Phones, Mobiles, O2, Postfone, Telephones, Tesco Mobile, Three, Vodafone

3 Comments

  1. Paddy19 says:
    September 7, 2010 at 04:29

    Best way to call UK from a mobile is to get 3 UK sim and put it in an unlocked phone. Calls are 10c per minute and txts are also 10c. Topups can be a bit of a hassle (3 won’t accept Irish Credit cards) but are sold on Ebay.

  2. Dermot lennon says:
    September 10, 2010 at 17:47

    It is possible to ring any phone ( mobile or otherwise) using a skype account from you mobile or land line. Cost is the local phone call cost usually included minutes if on mobile, plus the skype charge which varies depending on country you are calling. You need to have a skype account.

    • Money Saving Expert says:
      September 10, 2010 at 18:27

      Thanks Dermot – we will be doing further investigations into Skype and other VOIP products soon to see if costs are any cheaper.