Still too expensive !

With a local SIM card and a Direct-Inbound-Dial (DID) number and call forwarding through VoIP (e.g. the "Continental" product from www.IrishCall.eu) to my local SIM I can receive calls anywhere in the world for some €0.20/£0.12 and make calls via SMS callback with the same product for the price of an SMS + €0.20/£0.12! By using this service and routing the calls myself, I have been able to make/receive a lot cheaper than TruPhone or eKit or other companies offering global SIM cards. And once I am back at home, I simply redirect my inbound number to my home phone and callers can reach me there, too. Noone ever notices that I am abroad or where I am in the world and I can make/receive calls without incurring massive cost. So where exactly is the advantage of this TruPhone service?

@Vince: What matters is reliability...

Price is not the issue, reliability and convenience is. Communication is vital to our way of life and business - so low cost half baked solutions won't suffice. My enthusiasm for TruPhone is based on the fact that when Skype was at the same stage (as a business) as TruPhone is today, it was unreliable, the call quality was pants and you were constrained to your desktop. TruPhone works well on handsets today, making it convenient. All they need do is further integrate it into other services and grow it. (I use Skype on my desktop & laptop, I am subscribed to SkypeOut, and it is excellent, don't get me wrong.) All said, what we really need is a P2P solution that renders the telcos obsolete. Bring on WiMax proper! :-)

cheaper routing?

quote:

"The company isn't commenting on plans, but it's easy to imagine a scenario similar to the 3UK/Skype arrangement. Calls made from a Truphone-equipped handset would be routed over the cellular network to the nearest Truphone hub, and then converted to VoIP connections for cheaper routing "

_

I don't quite understand how you get to this assumption about a so-called Truphone hub, as the SIM card is on an mvno and is roaming on a UK network, and the calls are routed via 2 other companies as well. At the moment UM's tariffs are already slightly cheaper than its reseller, so it will be interesting to see what happens

What's more, I don't understand how you expect this to help with the T-mobile dispute, as Truphone has not become a main GSM network by dint of this, and Jersey mobiles aren't in T-mobile inclusive minutes either.

Just buy a local SIM card

Works for me, calls from Egypt were costing me about 6p a minute last summer.