Skype

This blog entry is more for fellow PCVs than folks back in America – but you may find it useful too.  It’s about the latest and greatest (and cheapest) phone calling technology that I’ve seen and now actually used.  It’s called “Skype” and it allows you to call through the Internet to both other computers OR regular phone lines.  To call computer to computer and talk just like a normal phone conversation is free worldwide.  To call computer to regular telephone works fine too – that’s why I just did to call my parents in American – and it only costs about 2 cents per minute to call America from anywhere in the world.  [To call a Moldovan landline or mobile from anywhere costs 15 or 22 cents per minute, respectively and every country has its own rate.  It only matters where you call to, not where you call from.]

 

So, if you’re a PCV and want to know how to call home, you’ll first need two things:

1. A laptop that has a microphone either built-in or one that you can plug in
2. An internet connection  [Dial-up is fine.  That’s what I have and though the conversation is a little choppy at times, for the most part the voices are crystal clear.  If you’re in Moldova there’s a national Internet system.  You dial 1900 (or perhaps “p1900”) using the Account Name “Internet” and the password “Total.”  They charge by the minute and the cost comes out to be around 7 lei (60 cents) per hour.  The fee shows up on your monthly telephone bill)

 

If you fit those two criteria, go to www.skype.com and download their software.  It’s 4-7MB, so you might want to do this at the PCOffice and transfer it to your computer via a flash drive so you don’t get stuck online for a long period of time.

 

Then when you install the software you should be online so you can set up an account for yourself.  From there it’s pretty self-explanatory and the skype website is very user friendly.  If you plan on making phone from your computer to a regular phone, you have to buy credits with your credit card usually in $10 increments.