Is it possible to dial US toll-free numbers from HK?

[c1000]

Anyone know how to connect to a US toll-free number?

[PDLM]

Many IDD services allow you to dial. For example:

0060-1-800-xxx-xxxx
1529-1-800-xxx-xxxx

They're not free of course - normally charged like a normal call to the US I think, so somewhere in the range HK$0.11-0.30/min.

Even 001 works I think although that will not be cheap:
001-1-800-xxx-xxxx

[HowardCoombs]

One word : Skype

You can dial (most if not all) 800 numbers for free using Skype.

HC

[PDLM]

And if you're really lucky the person on the other end will be able to hear you and there won't be a seconds delay so that you have to adopt a radio protocol and say "over" when you've finished talking. But heh you might save a whole HK1.50.

[psjylife]

Well, for me I've been using skype for months, and I'm really satisfied about the quality of services?
What kind of connection do you have PDLM?

[PDLM]

The problems with Skype as I see it are:

- for most calls to phone lines it is trivial to find real phone services which are cheaper (for example: PCCW0060 gives me HK$0.11 to the US; Skype charges a HK$0.39 connection fee and then HK$0.166/min for normal USA numbers (just the connection charge for 800)).

- for calls to other machines running Skype then yes it is free, but you are tied to the internet connection/machine which I generally find inconvenient. Moreover, the quality of the call tends to be inversely related to the cost of making a real phone call to the same destination. So, for example, calling the US or UK is often good quality on Skype but you're saving so little money that I don't think it's worth the inconvenience. On the other hand the quality on Skype to places where phone calls are expensive (e.g. Philippines, Indonesia) is variable at best and generally far poorer than I am happy to accept.

- Skype out involves pre-paying for a service of variable quality. If your connection to somewhere is bad and you resort to a phonecall then there's no way to get your money back for the failed Skype call - you are charged regardless of the fact that it was an unusable connection. I don't like the concept of pre-paying something where there is no guarantee (or even reasonable expectation) of quality - the internet is inherently a best efforts network which isn't designed for real time communications.

[Sambuster]

We bought a TOPCOM phone for Skype (can be used for landline # too)& it's super clear to US & Europe. I've dialed toll-free #'s to US w/no problem.

[HowardCoombs]

If you have a decent internet connection Skype is excellent.
If you are working on various torrents, Skype generally sucks :-)
YMMV

True, if you are calling UKLandLines/US/Canada, Skype and its rates dont make a lot of sense, however I make a lot of calls to:
1) UK Mobiles
2) South Africa
3) Ghana
4) Ireland
Trying to call those places using regular phonelines becomes a very expensive proposition - Skype is the best alternative I've found so far.

HC

[PDLM]

UK Mobiles
Skype: HK$0.39 connection plus HK$1.999/min
PCCW 0060: HK$1.21/min (HK$1.11 until 31 December)

[HKFella]

Some of those 800 numbers keep you on voice menus and hold for so long that it pays to have a zero or near zero cost connection. I've had fairly decent results with nonoh.net but you need to buy a ten Euro credit to make some paid calls in order to use it for a ton of free calls. HK and N America are free. VOIP. Quality varies. To landlines usually good, mobile - depends on country and cell svc provider.