Get cheap calls to Middle East countries

February 16, 2012 | Rebtel

If you have moved to the UK recently from the Middle East, or even if you have been resident here many years and are looking at the best ways to stay in touch with your loved ones back home, then there are many different options open to you. Many people will offer you friendly advice about the most cost-effective way to call Middle East countries and in this article, we look at the different ways you can stay in touch and find out which option offers the best choice to make regular cheap calls to Middle East states.

1. Calling from a BT (or similar) landline

Many people would assume a landline is the cheapest option for calling the Middle East from the UK. Calling is relatively simple, just enter in the international code of the country you are dialling, the regional number (if there is one) and then your contact’s number. Landline costs however can be expensive if you dial using BT standard rates. For example, a call to Israel using BT’s standard rate is 63p per minute, while calling Jordan costs almost double that at 125p per minute.

2. Using a traditional mobile phone provider

Given that landline costs can be very expensive, how do mobile service providers compare? Unfortunately, the answer is not particularly well. 02 for example charge their customers 154p per minute for calls to the Middle East. Even if you qualify for their International Traveller Service, calls still cost 92p per minute and texts are 17p each regardless of what tariff you are on.

3. By purchasing international calling cards

Many shops and vendors sell international calling cards that give you a set number of minutes for your money when calling home. At first, these seem good value as the rates advertised are usually much cheaper than landline or mobile alternatives. Unfortunately many companies apply several hidden fees to calls made, such as high connection and termination charges, which means that your £10 call card, actually only gets you a fraction of the airtime you thought you had paid for.

4. A reputable VoIP provider

The real way to save money on calls to the Middle East is to use your smartphone or PC to download a free app from a reputable Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider, such as Rebtel. The Rebtel app not only gives you access to free calls to other Rebtel users (meaning that if you persuade your contacts to join, you can speak to them wherever they are in the Middle East completely free of charge), but even if your contact cannot join Rebtel, you can still benefit from much cheaper call costs. For example, with Rebtel, calling a Jordan landline costs just 5.19p per minute, that is almost 120p cheaper than BT! Calling a mobile is just 7.58p, 84p per minute cheaper than 02! Texts cost just 2.02p a text, almost 15p cheaper per text!

Clearly VoIP providers such as Rebtel offer by far the cheapest and easiest way to stay in touch with loved ones. Registering is simple and Rebtel even give all new customers 5 minutes free credit when they join to try out the service.

Quite simply, if you are seeking the best way to call the Middle East, VoIP companies like Rebtel offer by far the highest quality, easiest and cheapest way to stay in touch either from your PC or smartphone.