Lebara mobile: Overseas calls at Skype prices
A new prepaid calling service offers Australians international calls from their mobiles at rates comparable to Skype.
UK-based company Lebara Mobile today launched its prepaid mobile phone service in Australia in partnership with Vodafone, offering customers international phone calls from their mobiles at rates significantly cheaper than those offered by existing mobile carriers.
Lebara will operate in Australia as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) reselling local and national calls through Vodafone. It also offers international calls routed through its headquarters in the UK with overseas tariffs starting from 5 cents/min to China, with calls to many major Western countries, like the UK and USA, costing 9 cents/min.
In comparison, calling overseas using a Telstra prepaid SIM costs 66 cents/min to the UK and $1.76/min to call China.
Customers can transfer their existing mobile phone numbers to a Lebara account and use the service as their primary mobile phone service. Calls to phones in Australia will cost a flat rate of 20 cents/min. All Lebara accounts are prepaid with account recharge vouchers available through e-pay or by credit card purchase online or through the phone.
Full details about Lebara mobile rates and overseas calling tariffs to various countries are available on the Lebara website.