Job Discussion Forums

[Le Creature]

Hello,

Well I've actually been offered a position in Japan and I'm mighty chuffed about it all. I just have a question in regards to "phoning home". I live in Australia and during my in-class course was told of a chip that can be put into your phone that greatly minimises the cost of overseas phone calls from Japan.

Does anyone have anymore information? Thank you for reading.

[kdynamic]

If you get YahooBB and use BBfone it's wicked cheap. I don't know about Oz but it's 2 yen a minute to the US.

[moot point]

We use "fusion". I don't know exactly the minutes I spend speaking to "home" but my phone bill is usually around 2500yen per month on average. If I take a guess that is probably about two hours of phone calls.

[PAULH]

[PolishZeus]

It should also be noted that Skype is free if the person you are calling uses skype as well. If you are calling a landline then it will cost money...you'd have to check on the website for the rates though. I think they're pretty cheap still

[womblingfree]

[Le Creature]

Ok...I need to get a new phone...

So, if I purchase a new one to take with me and then hunt down a Brastel card or something similar then I'll be set? Or is it much more complicated than that? Would appreciate a response, cheers.

[Gordon]

If you are bringing a cordless phone, it may not work. Mine didn't anyways and it was a newer expensive model. Brastel will work on any phone, at different rates. Home phones are cheapest, then pay phones and then cell phones. Do a search for brastel and then you can see the rates for Oz.

I take it chuffed is a good thing.

[David W]

[abufletcher]

What's the quality like with Skype? 5-6 years ago we used an internet-based service called net2phone and while it worked, the conversations always had that "mission to Mars" like echoing delay that was ok if both parties were familiar with it, but entirely too disrupting to use for a business call or the like.

Now we use YahooBB for both broadband and phone. Calling the US is so cheap that I don't even think about what it costs any more. In the US my family uses the Vonage phone system and it's almost as cheap for them to call me here.

We also communicate frequently (almost daily) via iChat on the Mac both in text and video mode. BTW, iChat video chat is BAR NONE the best video chat yet available. To be able to do FULL SCREEN live chats with full, normal voice is just amazing after looking at all of those dinky web cams from other makers. The catch of course is that both parties have to be using an iSight on a Mac.

[Le Creature]

[Hoser]

are you talking about a cell phone?? I'm assuming you are, if you're talking about international roaming. I don't know about australia but our phones in Canada don't even work on the same system as Japan. Cell phones are cheap to buy here (only 1 yen!) and a 2000 yen brastel card will get yoou about 90 minutes of talk time. If that is too expensive then try cutting the apron strings with mom and simply send her more emails and less phone calls

[Angelfish]

Will Skype work if you use one of those mobile cards you can plug into your laptop? Are the cards a broadband or dial-up connection?

[may be going]

use skype all the way. as another poster said, if you both have skype, you can talk as long as you want for free. you just need to buy a headset. i got mine for 700 yen.

if you have skype but the other person doesn't, you buy credit through skype. it's called skypeout. to call a landline in australia is 2.7 yen per minute after tax. or .024 US cents after tax. mobiles are sightly more expensive.

i don't know about brastel etc, but i called my dad yesterday using skypeout and we spoke for 2.5 hours. it cost me about 4.5 aussie dollars. using yesterday's rate that's less than 400 yen. for 2.5 hours!

i have yahoobb but it doesn't come anywhere near that for cheap rates. i seldom use my homephone, even for calls in japan. landlines in japan are 3 yen per minute after tax and 20 yen per minute to mobiles. although if the other person has yahoobb then it's free. then i use my landline of course.

lastly, the quality is fantastic. just as good as my landline of not better. i guess it depends on your internet connection, but i also use skype from my work computer, which is not as good a connection as home, and the quality is jsut as good.

i will never use landlines or cards again as long as these rates continue.

just go to www.skype.com and check it all out for yourself. saves you an absolute ton of money.

[JimDunlop2]

I can't believe the amount of misinformation that gets disseminated around here when it comes to questions of phoning internationally.

First off, as far as some people know, Skype could be a brand of sports beverage! Also it behooves you to point out the differenece between a land-based service and an Internet one. You cannot compare the two services directly. Apples and oranges.

Essentially, in order to phone home (wherever home may be) you have one of 4 options.

1. Using a land-based phone
2. Using your mobile phone
3. With an international calling card
4. Via Internet

------------------

1. Land-based phones

In order to get one, if it isn't being provided by your employer as part of a package, you need to contact your local Japanese phone company either directly or indirectly. NTT is the beast. http://www.ntt.co.jp/gnavi_e/index.html

If you're going to get ADSL (high-speed) Internet, you will need to deal with EITHER: NTT (directly or through an intermediary) OR YahooBB... If you choose to do your business through Yahoo, they will help set everything up for you, including the phone line through NTT on your behalf.

Just like in North America, you need a regular ol' telephone and using a long distance plan (or third party company) you can call home. I had a hard time finding NTT's international direct-dial rates, but one of their competitors was more than willing to provide this.

USA: 4 to 6 yen/minute (depending on variables)
CANADA: 9 - 19 yen/minute
AUSTRALIA: 11 - 21 yen/minute

Advantages of this: secure, good quality phone line (usually), uses standard, cheap phone equipment, you have a regular phone number so that people can call you.

Disadvantages: more expensive than some of the other methods

2. Mobile Phone

Just like with a land-based line, using your keitai to call internationally is also possbile. Rates will of course vary based on your company and what plan you have, but here's an idea using AU as an example.

USA: 72 - 99 yen/minute
CANADA: 81 - 105 yen/minute
AUSTRALIA: 129 - 171 yen/minute

Advantages: Quick, convenient, portable, no need to set up any other service, good, reliable quality compared to other methods

Disadvantages: Expensive as all heck! The most expensive option unless you only call out to tell people to call you back.

3. International Calling Card

This is my favorite system, as I can use it with any phone, be it a payphone, land-based phone, cellphone, etc. Rates vary depending on which of these you call from but let's assume that you will be calling from a land-based phone -- either your own, a friend's or at work...

USA: 8 yen/minute
CANADA: 9 yen/minute
AUSTRALIA: 10 yen/minute (33 mobile)

Advantages: Easy to budget -- it's prepaid so you can't spend more than how much oyu have on your card. Quality is good, but sometimes inferior to a direct line as mentioned in 1. and 2. Flat rates 24/7. Flexibility of use from any kind of phone.

Disadvantages: More expensive than some options, you get cut off mid-conversation if you run out of cash (but you do get a 1 minute warning).

4. Via Internet

It's very important to distinguish between phone-line based solutions (above) and Internet-based ones. Internet-based solutions require more equipment and setup than any of the above.... In addition to a telephone (or headset) you also need a computer with a high-speed Internet connection. (Although, note that BBphone boasts that you don't need a computer). This can be a problem for many. In fact, even if you live in a city, your ADSL speed rates may be limited due to the distance from the switch (telephone company building).

Examples:

YahooBB/BBphone

USA: 8 yen/minute
CANADA: 12 yen/minute
AUSTRALIA: 23 yen/minute

Skype (is a software-based solution)

USA: 2.4 yen/minute
CANADA: 2.4 yen/minute
AUSTRALIA: 2.4 yen/minute (23.1 mobile)

Advantages: Cheap! And if your other party uses the same system as you (e.g. you both use Skype) it's completely free! You may be able to have a phone number just as if you had a regular phone line. (With BB you most certainly do).

Disadvantages: heavy equipment requirements. Reliant on network (Internet) stability, hence quality can vary widely. May not be available to everyone in all areas... Cannot use anywhere.


That's the bare bones of it, anyway. I have used most of these services at some point, and my personal leanings are towards Brastel. It it BY FAR the quickest to get going with. You can get Brastel and phone home minutes later. There is no need to wait for an Internet connection to be set up or for a computer to be configured or even a phone line to be installed. At the same time, I've also successfully used Skype a fair bit -- but my quality has been questionable at times and many of my friends cannot use Skype because they don't have high-speed Internet -- or a computer for that matter.