Does one need a land line in HK?

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  1. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by muse07:
    What about international calls? I pay 120 per month for a landline and this includes get 500 minutes of calls to my chosen country, Australia. Granted I only use a mere fraction of that to call home, but I don't think my mobile rates can be anywhere near as good. Do people use their mobiles to call overseas? I guess I could use a phonecard...

    I am always a bit weary of mobile phone radiation. Whatever happened to all those articles on that? I guess people must think it's safe. In any case I have a speakerphone function on my mobile. Maybe I should ditch my landline too; although 120pm doesn't seem like much I guess it adds up.
    Don't need to worry about international calls.

    I either use VOIP or my 3UK mobile to call back to the UK (using the 3 Like Home service).

    As for faxes, just fax from work, if I ever need to.

  2. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by smelly:
    Use Skype...Can call any landline/mobile in the world for about .16 hkd per minute or .02 usd
    This is complete bollocks. Skype charges are here.

    Calling a UK mobile, for example, costs HK$1.999/min.

    If you use a real phone service then it is likely to be less.

    And you need to prepay with Skype, but with real phone services you pay some days after you receive your bill.
    Last edited by KnowItAll; 29-10-2008 at 02:31 PM.

  3. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    For some reason (and I have NO IDEA) why, but PDLM will no doubt jump in and advise) my international provider is CHEAPER by mobile than by landline! I thought it was a mistake when I looked at the rates, but no, it's true.
    In terms of the international call (IDD) charge you are indeed correct. The reason is that any IDD operator who originates calls off a fixed line has to pay a regulated Local Access Charge (LAC) to the fixed line operator because that operator is otherwise getting no money for the call. With a mobile phone you are in principle paying airtime in addition to the IDD charge so you are paying for the local part of the call yourself. In practice most people have packages or airtime so that the incremental cost of airtime is zero, but that doesn't mean it is free.

  4. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    This is complete bollocks. Skype charges are here.

    Calling a UK mobile, for example, costs HK$1.999/min.

    If you use a real phone service then it is likely to be less.

    Moreover, Skype rounds up to the next minute and IDT1529 charges you just for the seconds you use.

    And you need to prepay with Skype, but with real phone services you pay some days after you receive your bill.
    Well Bollocks!!

    it is still .16 hkd to call UK landlines. didn't know it was so much more to call uk mobiles. The US it is the same for both.

    I put 100 hkd on skype 2 years ago. Still have 50 remaining.
    Last edited by KnowItAll; 29-10-2008 at 02:35 PM. Reason: cleaning up some bits

  5. #35

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    Yes, and real phone services are in the range HK$0.15-0.18 to call the US, with varying degrees of rounding. At HK$0.15 you'll likely be rounded to the minute and then to then next 10 cents (as 0060 does). At HK$0.18 it should be "clean" (per second, rounded to the cent, as per IDT1529).


  6. #36

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    For international calls HK is full of providers who have very cheap packages. Prices and promotions change all the time but you'll find that even Skype is expensive compared with some of the packages available and the advantage is you don't have to be at home tied to a computer or land line.

    My current package costs $20 a month which includes 300 minutes to countries I call regularly - UK, China and Australia and after that call's are 0.09 a minute. I know the promotion will end on this one soon so I'll find another. It's just so easy to do here.


  7. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    I'd be amazed if that included international faxes (which is probably about half of mine). And, in my case, I seem to be sending stuff late at night when I get home, so the "office hours" thing wouldn't really work. For me $1320 is a price I'm prepared to pay for the convenience (and the resilience of having a second solution if my mobile packs, or I get home and find I've left it in the pub/office/whatever).
    $1320 sounds steep. I negotiated a 2 year contract for littel over 40$ per month with PCCW. I just don't feel comfortable on the mobile for longer calls.

  8. #38

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    $110/month is rack rate. Yes, there are deals out there with bundled minutes of IDD and so on, although I must admit I didn't think getting it down to $40 was do-able. How did you manage that?


  9. #39

    I use Skype to fax when the very rare time comes along. Faxed no probs to Vietnam. Little add-on called PamFax.


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