OneTel

I make a lot of long distance, international phone calls. I mean a lot. I call the states several times a week. I also don't talk for just a short time, I talk like it is a free local call. Lots of catching up to do with family and friends you know. I even still call my favourite local shops in the states to order gifts, flowers, and restaurant gift vouchers. I needed a good long distance phone carrier. I've experimented with a couple, but none proved to be that cheap. Until I found OneTel!

OneTel is simple to use. Once you register your telephone number with them, they issue you a 4 digit code to dial before you enter the phone number that you want to ring. That's it! Easy as that! I never have problems accessing and rarely have problems with OneTel having busy circuits. I can talk as long as I want to my family in the states, for nearly as cheap as I can to people in this country. Sometimes cheaper! TRUE!! A call to the USA, anywhere in the USA is only 3P per minute. I can speak to my loved ones for £1.80 per hour. Nonsensical, isn't it? Fanbloodytastic is what it is! A miracle! Calls without guilt!

Here are some examples of OneTel's prices compared with BT's:
Spain - 4p v 36p
Puerto Rico - 9P v 78p
Austria - 8p v 39p
Netherlands - 2p v 28p
Italy - 4p v 36p
Canada - 4p v 24p
Australia - 4p v 49p
Ireland - 4p v 23p
France - 4p v 28p
Hong Kong - 7p v 49p
India - 32p v £1.20
The list goes on and on.

In addition, OneTel offers you a Home and Away Card. This card allows you to make calls from any UK phone, as well as from 40 countries around the world. The calls are billed to your normal OneTel bill. You can have as many cards as you like, so if you have kids who are away at school, they can keep in close touch. There are instructions that come with your card, telling you access numbers, pin numbers and dialling instructions. There are bands of pricing when calling from abroad with these cards. Check with OneTel to find out what those charges will be from the particular country you are phoning from.

You can also use OneTel to place your local or national calls. Local peak time calls are 2.5p compared to BT's 3.95p. Off peak is 1p compared to BT's 2.5p. OneTel's national rates are just 2.5p anytime. Weekend rates are 1p for local calls, which is the same as BT. BT is actually cheaper on national weekend calls. BT is 2p compared to OneTel's 2.5p per minute.

To ring a mobile with OneTel, the rates are peak times: 20p, offpeak times: 15p and weekend: 8 p. per minute. You can also register your mobile number and compare rates with other mobile service providers. Again, check with them on this, as I do not use this service.

OneTel also offers something called a PhonePal. This is a device that plugs into your wall socket, which automatically enters you access code before you dial any number. This means that every call that you make goes through OneTel. We do not have this feature either, but is available to those who want it.

They also offer an Internet Service Prvovider. This is 1p per minute with no minimum or extra charges. Again, I do not use this, as I am happy with my ISP, but it is a very good deal and according to friends who use it, they are very pleased with the service.

Billing is easy! We use their email billing. Just go to www.onetel.co.uk and go to account billing. They notify me when it is billing times and I can go to their website and check my bill. All calls are itemised and I can not only check my current bill, but also bills from three months prior and any unbilled calls. All you have to do is provide your bank details and they debit your account. Very simple.

You can sign up with OneTel directly on their website www.onetel.co.uk. When you register you will get a £2 credit towards your first bill. Not a bad introductory offer.

As you can see, I can't praise OneTel enough. I never get nervous on the 21st of each month, because I know my international phone bill is going to be very reasonable. I get more nervous when that quarterly BT bill comes. Ahhhhhh maybe one day, this country will get free local calls like the states. I can dream can't I? Until then, I salute you OneTel!