$49 Mobal World Phone, recommended on MSNBC Travel
Oct. 27, 2004 - Savings Sleuth
"Mobal Communications is now offering its Mobal World Phone for just $49. Once you pay this flat fee, the handset is yours to use again and again when traveling overseas. Your phone will work in 140 countries, but here’s the best part: there’s no contract or cancellations fee, you pay per usage (i.e. by the minute), and rates are actually pretty reasonable. This means every time you travel abroad, you charge your phone, use it when you need, and then you’ll get a bill in the mail.
With the Mobal World Phone your rates will be the best in the UK, where incoming calls are free, local calls are $1.25/minute, and conversations with the US run $1.50/minute. Here are some other example per minute rates:
Australia: Incoming $1.25; Local $1.25; To US $1.50
China: Incoming $1.75; Local $1.50; To US $2.95
France: Incoming $1.25; Local $1.25; To US $1.50
Norway: Incoming $1.25; Local $1.25; To US $1.50
South Africa: Incoming $1.25; Local $1.25; To US $1.50
The difference between Mobal’s rates and those of competitors vary greatly. After doing a bit of research we learned that Mobal’s prices ranked the lowest, with the per-minute cost difference ranging from $.25 to $3. The only place where Mobal could use some tweaking in its technology and price structure is with calls to satellite phones, which cost a hefty $10.50 per minute. Considering that hotels around the world are notorious for gouging guests with exorbitant rates for international calls, we think that Mobal is the most cost-effective way to stay in touch with friends, family and co-workers in the US while traveling abroad."
