Make cheap call from / to Thailand

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Make cheap call from / to Thailand

cheap_calls For International direct-dial (IDD) phone calls, there are three time periods with different rates. The most expensive, or standard, time to call is from 7am to 9pm (20 percent discount on Sundays); the economy period runs from 9pm to midnight and 5am to 7am; the reduced rate applies between midnight and 5am.

The per-minute rate for a direct dial call to Europe is 30 baht standard, 24 baht economy and 24 baht reduced; for North America and Australia it's 22/18/18 baht; at the time of writing, however, plan to cut these international rates by between 20% and 70% were announced.

You can use these government rates by buying a Thai card, the international phone card issued by CAT (Communications Authority of Thailand). Found in 50-3000 baht denominations at post offices and many shops, Thai cards can be used in designated purple card phones and the government telephone centers, which are usually located within or adjacent to the town's main post office. On the same phones, you can also use CAT's Inter-based Phone Net Cards, which come in denominations of 300, 500 and 1000 baht from the same outlets and give access to far cheaper tariffs: 14 baht per minute to the US and Australia, for instance, 20 baht to the UK.

international_phone There's also a private international card phone system called Lenso, which operates in Bangkok and the biggest resorts. Lenso's phones are yellow and have been installed all over the place. To use them, you either need a special Lenso phone card (available from shop near the phones in 300 baht and 500 baht denominations), or you can use a credit card. Rate are 10% higher that government IDD rates.

Private international call offices (where you call is timed and you pay at the end) in tourist area such as Bangkok's Khao San road tend to be slightly more expensive again, while services offered by the posher hotels are the most expensive way of calling. Cheapest of all is to call via the Internet, and you'll find that many Internet cafés in tourist areas deeply undercut government phone rates.

Collect or reverse-charge calls can be made free of charge at government phone centres, or from many guest houses and private phone offices, usually for a fee of 100 baht. From the government phone centres, as well as from some pay phones and fixed telephones, you can make Home Country Direct calls to your own international operator, who will arrange for you to make a credit-card or reverse-charge call.

International dialing codes

If you're dialing from abroad, the international code for Thailand is +66, after which you leave off the initial zero of the Thai number. Calling out of Thailand, for Laos dial +007856 then the subscriber number, for Malaysia +09 then the subscriber number; for anywhere else, dial +001 and then the relevant country code: