Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

Dear all,
just to sharing about my experience with internet call. I´m sure that many of you know about this matter, and use skype or VOIP.
I use skype (http://www.skype.com) for calling my family and friends in Indonesia. Skype to Skype it´s free... but to call to skype-user in Indonesia its very difficult (delayed problem) But i can make internet-phone(landline) too, and cost to Jakarta 0,02 EUR/minute... but sometimes is the soundquality not good ... but it´s okay... than i can make conference or videocall with my family or friends...

Now i use VOIP too, and i find it´s great. http://www.voipdiscount.com. It´s free for landlines in Europe and America, and has an very acceptable sound quality.
You just have to make an account and topping up 10€ credit to your account. (It won´t be touched as long as you calling the free destination).
To call to Indonesia cost 0,01 EUR/minute.

Its great for me, when i go to work in the other city... now i take always my laptop to make calls... it´s reduce my mobil telephone bills...

Regards,
Dyah

Thanks for the website information. I tried the free call, but my mobil did not connect.
Have a nice day,

Skype out of Indonesia to landlines in Europe (i.e. Germany) or to Singapore works also pretty well now. (Skype-out ca. 0.017 Cent/Minute)

During the day (rarely evenings) I can even make a stable Video Call to Singapore or Europe via XL's 3G service.

I'm happy!

Hi, Dyah

...I use skype (http://www.skype.com) for calling my family and friends in Indonesia. Skype to Skype it´s free... but to call to skype-user in Indonesia its very difficult (delayed problem)...

I use Skype, occasionally, to call land-lines in Australia from Bali. Most of the time, it's OK. However, there are times when I get the "delayed problem". I call it The Aquanaut Effect - it sounds like talking to somebody under-water. Picking the "right" time helps a lot, I guess because of the extremely challenged Indonesian internet "pipeline" to the rest of the world.

Even before reading your post, I figured that there are many VOIP providers out there. I just had a quick look at the one you mention (voipdiscount), downloaded their software (<4MB), but haven't installed it yet. It reckons I can make free calls to land-lines in Australia. We will see.

By the way - Skype is just another VOIP provider. From memory, "VOIP" stands for "Voice Over Internet Protocol". The "trick" is to find the best one for our needs. I don't know which is "the best one", yet.

Hi Sanurian,
on my last visit in Indonesia i use Skype for calling my husband in germany... from Skype to Skype from my laptop ... i wonder about the good quality.
I see now that exist more and more service from internetcall like http://www.jajah.com, i use what for me "the best today". One day is Skype .. another day voip or the other service. If i don´t need to pay extra for my call .. why not.
-Dyah

Sanurian wrote:By the way - Skype is just another VOIP provider. From memory, "VOIP" stands for "Voice Over Internet Protocol". The "trick" is to find the best one for our needs. I don't know which is "the best one", yet.

Hi Sanurian, was wondering if you have been trying out Skype/Voip any further since this post a year or so ago, and if so how it is? if you have figured out the 'best one' yet?
Freo

I use Skype to talk to my sisters and nieces in the States occasionally. Works ok usually, and I'm amazed at the quality.

Can I ask what sort of connection you are using Dr Bruce ?

I was making the original calls with Spice Broadband which is actually fairly slow if you get the economy package, but I still was able to get a nice connection after 11PM Bali time. I now have Speedy which is much better.

...was wondering if you have been trying out Skype/Voip any further since this post a year or so ago, and if so how it is? if you have figured out the 'best one' yet?
Freo

Yes, I've tried several but keep coming back to Skype.

I'm not saying Skype is "the best", but overall, it does the job quite well. Maybe it's because I'm more used to it. Like drbruce, it seems much better now with the new TelkomSpeedy service. About 97% like using a normal telephone.

VoipBuster is interesting, too. You can make some free test-calls from their website, (maybe one, up to 60 minutes' long). It also claims you can make free PC-Phone calls between certain countries. For example, I think it's possible to call Australia from Indonesia for "free". Phone-to-Phone costs 4 cents/minute.

Actually buying some credit with them gives you 300 "free" minutes of calls to the designated countries, valid for 120 days. I tried it out months ago and it seemed OK. A very plain and ugly interface, though. Maybe the latest new version looks better.

For me, I don't care what it looks like, so long as it works properly. Have a look at their website:
http://www.voipbuster.com/en/free.html

They say...
If you like Skype, you'll love the Voipbuster

Hope this helps.

Sanurian this company looks to be the same as as your Voipbuster but with the small addition that the UK is listed as a free number - the websites seem almost identical but for the name and color.

http://www.voipstunt.com/en/index.html

Haven't tried them myself but will be having a go when on the island.

When I was last on Bali the problem wasn't the availability of VOIP companies but the lousy connections - basically, this technology just doesn't work with a dial-up or slow connection. We found that using it at night was the best bet.