It’s good to talk. But it’s better to do it for free. The other day I nearly suffered a stroke when I saw my phone bill after going abroad for a fortnight. I also find, as a student, that one does tend to spend a decent amount of time on the phone to call centres whose tariffs are made about as clear as mud, and who turn out to be charging full price despite being in the Far East. Anyway, I have recently discovered some alternatives to paying through the nose for long distance calls.

SKYPE

Firstly there’s Skype. For prolonged travelling this thing really is a godsend. Admittedly, calls are only free to other Skype users who just happen to be at a computer, but it is normally less than 10p a minute to call anywhere in the world. Furthermore, there are increasing opportunities to have Skype on your mobile phone as an application.

BBM, What’s App...

For those of you with smartphones, the opportunities for free talk are extensive, with Blackberry Messenger, and the new What’s App, for iPhone and Blackberry, both of which enable the user to use an MSN style chat system. Such applications rely on both parties having access, but are very effective and on the rise. In addition, picture, video and audio files may be sent.

SIM Only

But for those without such hi-tech benefits, there is the option of a ‘SIM Only’ phone contract. These tend to offer more anytime minutes and text messages than it’s humanly possible to use in a month, the only downside being that you have to provide your own phone.

Best option..?

So if you’ve got a penchant for the technological, there are several options, all of which come at a fairly reasonable price. However, the cheapest option is undoubtedly a ‘SIM Only’ contract which now begin at as little as 5 pounds a month and allow as much communication as an average student could wish for.